


Point Break

by ridingthemagic2arpet



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Everyone’s Aware that Danzo is a bitch, F/M, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Travel, itachi and shisui and naruto are the holy trinity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:01:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 46,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28709364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ridingthemagic2arpet/pseuds/ridingthemagic2arpet
Summary: Naruto (Naru) travels back in time after the Fourth Greath Ninja War ends in the death and destruction of all her loved ones. She goes with the intentions to change a few things... but maybe she gets a bit caught up with the life she's made.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uzumaki Naruto, Namikaze Minato & Team Minato, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Nohara Rin & Uzumaki Naruto, Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Obito & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Shisui & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 118
Kudos: 317
Collections: Foxy fox 🦊





	1. Blank Slate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto crashes back in time after the terrible outcome of the Fourth Shinobi War.
> 
> Kakashi and Sasuke could be twins.

Naruto Uzumaki swept her long blonde hair over her shoulder, uncaring that it seemed to sweep through the blood and grime caked into her black and orange zip-up sweater. The wasteland that laid around her glowed under the dawn of a rising sun. It was too beautiful - the way the oranges bled into the pinks and yellows and purples, casting a warm light over the carnage and chaos. She didn't let herself squint as the sun became more piercing. It was almost time, anyways. 

Naru had watched Hinata fall first. Neji's sacrifice had seemed vain in the end. But watching the kind and shy girl who had taken such a brave step forward in the face of adversity get slaughtered with countless other shinobi had made her so angry. And yet, for all that anger and pain, it hadn't stopped Shikamaru from taking that kunai to the heart, or Sakura, from getting crushed. It hadn't stopped Kakashi from exhausting all his chakra, and Sasuke from getting decapitated either. 

Her back felt cold from where her mesh had been sliced open, but she paid it no mind. Soon enough, she wouldn't be here anymore. It was only a matter of time before Madara was back. Obito was still alive, and oddly enough on the Allied Shinobi Forces' side. But still, it felt counter - productive to save a world when there was no one left to see it. No one left to save. 

They had set up camp a few kilometers back, and Naru vaguely heard as the flap to their tent was swished open. She doesn't turn to look at him, content to watch the sunrise on what might be her last day. His last day, too. 

'Are you ready, Naru-chan?' Obito asks quietly. When she turns, the first thing she notices is that he looks tired. His eyes are drooping, and he looks exhausted. Naru shares the sentiment, and her throat tightens when she sees the sealing scroll clutched in one hand, and the brush and pot of ink in the other. 

'I am,' She says, with the confidence they both know she doesn't feel. She meets him halfway and they settle down on barren ground, criss cross, the seal and ink between them. 'We don't even know if the seal will work,' She warns him. 'If this doesn't work in our favor then we'll both probably end up dead.' It's a moot point, though. Kurama had already agreed to supply most of the chakra, and she was going to lose him in the process.

'We'll end up dead, anyways,' He shrugs then hesitates, an apprehensive expression crossing his scarred face. 'Look, Naru. I know what you're going to do. And, if things don't work out, then that's entirely okay.'

She shakes her head defiantly, her whiskered cheeks set in a firm pout. They're covered in blood and bruises and theres a chance she won't even make it out - but it's a promise she intends to keep even if it kills her. 'I have no intentions of dying, Obito.' A wry smile skims over her lips. 'But this one thing can completely change how this war goes, if it'll even happen. And besides, nothing could be worse than the alternative.'

'If you're sure.' He hands her the brush and opens the pot of ink. Naru quickly gets to work. The sun is almost high enough, so Madara should be on the way. Naru barely pauses for a moment, her hands working deftly over the paper, the brush stroking the paper with precision. 

'Kurama told me the effects of the Space-Time seal,' She murmurs as she works. It'll be disorientating at first. I'll probably pass out somewhere in a ditch to put it lightly. And the way it works is that to keep his chakra from going into overload to send me back, my body will most likely regress. That might be a problem. I'll be smaller, so my body won't be prepared for combat, and my chakra control will suffer.'

'It's going to look funny though, when a ten year old beats the Akatsuki's ass,' Obito jokes. She doesn't reply and instead focuses on drawing out the remaining characters on the seal. When she's done, she casts the brush away with a careless glance, turning to face Obito. 

'You ready?' At his nod, they hold out their fingers simutaneously and bite. Naru watches with facsination as her blood trickles down the small cut and drips onto the scroll, Obito's doing the same. The blood sizzles, and then Naru's pressing her palm into the center of it, Nine-Tail's chakra coating her like a fire infused blanket. 

'Good luck, Naru-chan,' Obito whispers, raising his hand in farewell as she's practically sucked into an empty void of nothing, his Kamui combining with the seal, the scream bubbling in her throat refusing to flood over.

As she's swirling in and out of reality, Kurama whispers in their mindscape. _'Goodbye, Kit.'_ She grabs at him in the sewers, but he's already gone. 

\--><\--

Naru falls for days and days and days. She can make out shapes behind her eyelids, moving too fast for her to want to open her eyes. She feels very tired. Maybe if she rests for a little she'll be ready to go.

\--><\--

When Naru wakes, her whole body aches like she's been tractor-rolled on countless times. She groans, and doesn't even think about moving from the Naru-shaped crater her impact has made into the ground. The grass around her is green in a way that it hasn't been since before Pain's attack on Konohagakure. But she's merely a mile or two away from the gates of Konoha. She'd know it like she knows her own name. 

**'Kurama?** ' She checks in, entering the mind scape - sewer that the Kyuubi resides in. But he's not there. She's not surprised, as it probably took a lot of his chakra in order to send her back as far he did. Still, she's a bit nervous now that she's out here by herself with no form of guidance. She's low on chakra herself, and her head is absoultely pounding.

Her vision is blurry, and just bending her leg to attempt to get up feels like it might tear her limbs apart from the strain. Letting out a choked half laugh, half sob, Naru settles back into her crater. Her arm groans in protest, and she watches it over to see that it's smaller than it had been before, just like how Kurama had said it would be.

The blonde has no idea how she's going to explain her sudden appearance to the Hokage or the council, but she'll have to spin it on the spot. To be fair, she and Obito had barely thought it'd work out. Creating a cover story hadn't seemed so important at the time. Laying back in her pained state, the last thing Naru catches sight of is a young girl leaning over her with odd purple strips on her cheeks. 

'Sukea?' She hears herself say, only able to fit the purple marks with the photographer who had promised her and her genin team photos of their sensei's real face. 

'Who's Sukea?' Another voice asks, too far for her to match it to a face. 

'Minato - sensei! Come quick!' The girl in front of her yells. 'I think she needs medical care right now!'

No fucking way. No way it's this easy. What are the odds that the first person she meets during her trip back is Rin - Kakashi and Obito's Rin? 

'Fucking beautiful,' The blonde grins widely before passing out once more, leaving herself in the care of good people. 

\--><\--

Naruto is so tired of waking up battered and sore. So it's to no one's surprise that when she wakes up under the harsh, sterlie white lights of the hospital room, she immediatly winces and burrows back into the covers. She's content on just sleeping her pain away (mission be damned, at this point) but then there's a poke to her shoulder, followed by another. The loss of Kurama echoes inside of her deeply. Sure, she still has his amazing chakra reserves and quick healing, but it's not the same without his gruff demeanor keeping her company. 

'Hey! Hey! Are you awake?' It was Obito if Naru didn't already know it. 

'Obito!' Came a softer scolding voice. 'Can't you tell she's going back to sleep? Stop bothering her.' 

'No, Obito's right,' Comes a third voice that has Naru immediatly stiffening. It's almost unhinging to hear her sensei's voice pre-puberty. 'She needs to wake up so that Minato - sensei can question her. She's a foreign shinobi!'

'How do you know that, Bakashi?' Obito asks.

'She has a forehead protector that all villages use. But hers has _Shinobi_ on it instead of her village.' Kakashi sounds reasonable and logical even as young as he is at this point in time. 

'She's also healing,' Rin says. 'She had broken bones all over her body when we found her and multiple lacerations and bruises. Not to mention that she's dangerously low on chakra. We can afford to let her rest a little longer. Minato - sensei is also busy filing a report for the Hokage, anyways.' 

Naru decides that Kakashi has been demoted from her favorite member of the previous Team 7. Rin can definitely have it any day she wants. The thought echoes on her head as small hands pull the covers tighter over her shoulders. 

\--><\--

When Naru wakes for the final time, she wakes to four faces. But her eyes are drawn to the far right of the room, where Kakashi's silver hair is defying gravitiy, his eyes gray and mask up as she expected it to be. Next to him is a taller figure, with blonde hair not unlike her own and blue eyes that match her own in every tone it takes on, a kind but hesitant smile on his face.

Her father.

Her eyes flicker back to Kakashi who's watching her with his arms crossed, his stance protective.

She can barely stop herself from sounding so young when she blurts out; 'Sensei?'

\--><\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIII! I know, normally I write Arrow fics. But, I just started Naruto (well not really I'm well into Shippuden by now). And well, if there has ever been a show that'll make my heart ache as much as this one, well let me know.  
> Also. Kakashi Hatake is the cutest character and that is on God. 
> 
> That's all!
> 
> Also, I have nothing against malexmale relationships. In fact, the whole reason I even like the Kakashi/Naruto ship is because of what I've read of them as males. However, I feel like... for this fic, Naruto has to be a girl. 
> 
> That's all. I hope you guys enjoyed it and chapters will be uploaded every Sunday (unless I say so!)
> 
> Happy reading! :)


	2. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto is in the hospital.

Naru had seen her father during the war, although it had been courtesy of the Reanimation Jutsu rather than some single handed miracle that was to let her keep by his side the way she had wished to as a child. Since her finding out about the Yondaime being her father, she's lost the times people have told her the comparison between them is uncanny. Seeing him now as he is, in a standard jonin flak jacket and dark blue shinobi pants is almost anti-climatic. His face, though, makes her want to reel through a set of tears until she's drowning in the lakes of her own sadness.

Seeing Kakashi as he is now - young and arrogant as he grew out of, is almost endearing. His mask still sits atop his face like he was born with it on, and it startles her to see him without his infamous scar resting over his left eye. His hair is as silver and wild as ever, and he's more fit than any eleven - year old has the right to be. 

Minato lets out a light but uncomfortable laugh. 'I'm sorry, but I'm not your sensei. I don't even know who you are.' Naru stares at him in confusion until it clicks - ah. She had said Sensei. Although that had been more aimed towards Kakashi, but she supposed this worked out in her favor. 

'Who are you? And why are you here?' Kakashi asks sharply, his dark gray eyes fixing her with a hard stare.

'Kakashi.' Minato holds out a reprimanding arm to his student. 

'My name is Naru. Short for Naruto,' She speaks up, watching Minato's reaction closely. She knows that she was named after the hero in one of Jiraiya's books. But to her disappointment, he schools his features very well, if the name even means something to him at this point.

'Just Naruto?' Her former sensei asks skeptically. 'What's your last name? Or don't you belong to a clan or something?'

God, her sensei can be scary if he wants to. 

Fumbling with her sheets, she mutters, 'I'm an orphan. I don't have a last name. Or no one ever told me if I did.' 

_Bingo_. And it's not even a lie. Well - the orphan part at least. 

Minato - the softie that he is - sits aside her bed and gazes down at her softly. 'Well you're safe now, Naru-chan. My name is Minato Namikaze, and I'm a jonin-sensei here in Konoha. This is my team.' He gestures to the three figures standing in the room. As her gaze travels over them, they all wave (except for Kakashi unsurprisingly). 

Her gaze snaps to Obito and Rin for the first time since waking up. Obito... just looking at him makes her heart hurt. He's so young and naive and innocent - everything he's not in the future she's from. His goggles are tinted orange, and his eyes are slammed shut as he shoots her a wide grin that reminds her of herself.

'Naru-chan! My name is Obito Uchiha! Nice to meet you.'

Naru smiles as much as she can without bursting into tears. 'Nice to meet you too, Obito-kun, dattebayo!' She catches in her periphreal as Minato lets out a small smile at her verbal tick.

'Hello, Naruto-chan.' The soft voice from earlier is back. 'My name is Rin Nohora.' Ah. So the catalyst for the war. She'll have to pay extra attention to this girl if she wants to make changes to this timeline. Her eyes are brown and soft like melted chocolate, and the purple strips having Naru holding her breath. 

'Rin-chan,' She bows her head gratefully. 'Thank you for finding me and bringing me back.' Naru smiles when a light blush dusts over Rin's small face.

'Kakashi Hatake,' Kakashi states, not an inch of emotion on his pale face. Or - at least what she can see of it. 

'Kakashi-kun,' She says saccharinely sweet, mocking him a little. The glower he sends her way is not lost on her. On Minato either if the way he glances between them in amusement is any indication. 

'Well, Naru,' Minato says softly as to not startle her like she's a wild animal in a cage. 'You gave us a bit of a scare back there. It's not everyday you see a small girl in a meteor sized crater looking bruised all over. What happened? Is someone after you?' Naru can tell he's trying not to let his concern show, but it's leaking out in his tone like there's a hole in a stopper. 

'To be honest, Minato-san, I don't remember much. Someone was after me..' She pauses as though she's trying to remember, '... but I think I managed to deal with it. But I was really tired. I think I used up too much of my chakra.' _Or more like she had traveled back in time and slammed into the ground with such force that she destroyed part of the forest and nearly drained her life (and Obito's probably) (and Kurama's) force._ But then again, she couldn't tell _them_ that. 

'Where are you even coming from, Naru-chan?' Obito asks. 'Your forehead protector doesn't even have a village on it. It just says _Shinobi_.'

Another oversight on her and Future Obito's part then. The Allied Shinobi Forces were no where close to being in the making, and having a unaffiliated hitai-ate would only raise suspicion. 

Resisting the urge to rub the back of her neck, Naru lies. 'I haven't been with a village in a while. I don't really have any ties, to be honest. I just wear the mark of a Shinobi because I am well versed in the ways of ninjutsu, fuinjutsu and taijutsu.'

Minato rubs his chin thoughtfully. 'I wonder,' He says, his blue eyes glinting. 'I think we'll have to take you to see the Sandaime, but once you're cleared, perhaps you'll be able to join a team.' 

' _Your_ team?' Naru asks, hoping she doesn't sound as desperate as she feels. 

'I'm not sure, Naru-chan,' The older man says gently. 'You might get placed on a team but it might not be mine. I suspect you'll have to take a test of some sorts. But don't worry! Even if you're not on our team, we'll still be around.'

'When will I be going to see Hokage-sama, then?' Naru feels her throat constrict a little. Jiji didn't die in the war, but he's still been six feet under for quite some time, now. It'll be like a kunai to the heart to see him up and alive once more. Even if he had made mistakes along the way, he was one of the only people who hadn't regarded her as a monster of sorts from her birth.

'Within the week,' Kakashi answers. 'Rin-chan says that you've been recovering at a remarkable rate. Your bones are almost done healing, and with some sleep your chakra exhaustion should clear up, although it may be a little difficult to get back on your feet.' His fists clench and unclench. 'I've never seen bones mend themselves like yours, Naruto.' The lack of honorific isn't lost on her, but she can't say she's surprised. Kakashi for all that she loves him in the future is a downright asshole at this point in time. Plus, he's being wary of what could be an imposter on his team. She can't be mad at him for it when it's that paranoia that's kept him alive for so long. 

Naruto stares him right in the eyes when she says; 'It might be a genetic thing. Where I was born, the shinobi are known for having extensive chakra reserves and furthermore, enhanced healing.'

'I thought you didn't know your family,' Kakashi counters, his arms folded like he's keeping himself from attacking her. 

'I don't. But I know where I was born, although I haven't been there in some time.'

'And where were you born?' Minato asks, jumping in. 

Ah, she supposes she'll never get an opportunity like this. 

'Uzushiogakure.'

Naru waits on baited breath as the four members of Team Minato exchange looks. 

'But, Naru-chan,' Obito begins. 'Uzushio was destroyed. Kushina-nee told us.'

'Kushina-nee?' Naru's heart begins to beat rapidly at her mother's name. 'Who is Kushina-nee?'

'Kushina Uzumaki,' Minato says. 'I suppose that if you don't know who your parents are and you're from Uzushio, it's possible that you're an Uzumaki.' 

'No way!' Obito protests immediatly. 'Kushina-san has red hot habenero hair, Sensei! Naru-chan has blonde hair like you.' 

Well. Way to hit the nail on the head right off the bat, Obito. Thankfully, everyone seems to gloss over that yes - in fact, Naru's hair is exactly the same shade as Minato's. 

'Don't be stupid, Obito,' Kakashi snaps. 'Just because Naruto doesn't have Kushina-nee's hair color doesn't mean she can't be an Uzumaki. One of her parents could've been from outside of the clan.' He turns to her then. 'I don't understand then, why you don't have an Uzushiogakure hitai-ate.' 

'Well, _Kakashi-kun_ ,' She actually can't help herself from sounding in the condescending way she does, and takes grim pleasure in the way Obito snickers. 'Considering Uzushio fell when I was born, I don't believe I had time to train with a genin team. Therefore I don't have a forehead protector. I had a man take me out of the village when I was a baby and he took care of me. Taught me how to utilize my chakra and fight. Then he died, and I've been on my own for a while.' 

Naru truely felt terrible spinning a sob story for them when three out of four members of their team looked ready to pull her into a tight teddy-bear hug and never let go. Yet, there was little else she could do. They wouldn't exactly believe her if she told them she had to stop one of their teammates from dying so that the other would not end up killing their team leader and his wife. 

There's drop dead silence for a minute, before Minato is propping off her bed and ushering Obito, Kakashi, and Rin out the door. 'Rest, Naru-chan,' He says with a smile. 'We'll be back tomorrow.'

Obito and Rin wave their goodbyes, Kakashi not bothering to look at her at all. Together they leave the room, and Naru doesn't waste any time in settling back down for some much needed rest.

\--><\--

Team Minato was in and out of her hospital room every day, sometimes all together, and sometimes in pairs, and sometimes by themselves. They brought things (read: Minato, Obito, and Rin) for her to occupy herself with during her stay. It was sweet, they cared. Minato and Obito had shown up with a split bouquet with a small index card that read _Get better!_ The freesias and sunflowers didn't exactly match but her room smelled a lot nicer after. Rin had put in request for her favorite food, and the reply of ramen had gotten her Ichiraku's. Needless to say that Rin was gleaning for first place in Naruto's favorite people book. Besides, Naru hadn't had Ichiraku's ramen since before the war and it was like coming home for the first time in a long time. 

Obito also showed up with a book of jutsus and - while Naru herself wasn't allowed to work on any jutsus, it was still nice to have the company. Kakashi came sometimes too, although when he came it was more for watchguard duties than companionship. The only thing that the silver haired prodigy brought for her was a book, which was expected. 

It wasn't until her fifth day in the hospital that Kakashi escorted her to the Hokage Tower. She had been allowed to change into a fresh set of clothes. They were chunin pants and an orange sweater (per her request). Kakashi led her to the tower with his small hand clasped firmly around her even smaller hand, his own like an iron vice like he expected her to make a run for it at any moment. 

Her heart was fluttering crazily. She was going to see Jiji again. _Jiji!_ It was practically a curse and a blessing at the same time. She hope she'd be able to keep herself in check and not end up bawling all over his Hokage robes. 

Kakashi didn't speak to her on the way there. When he urged her inside the doors, Minato was already seated with the Sandaime on the other side of the desk. Her father immediatly stood. 

'Hokage-sama,' He said respectfully. 'This is Naruto-chan.' He indicated towards the blonde girl. 'My team and I found her located outside the gates of Konoha less than a week ago.' 

Jiji looked the exactly the same as he had when Naru had grown up if you asked her. He was still old and gray, and the warmth in his eyes were detectable. 

'Naruto-chan, hm?' He blew a breath out from his pipe. 'Minato-san tells me that you've been on the road for your whole life. And that you grew up in Uzushio. What brought you here after all these years?'

'Someone was chasing after me, Hokage-sama. I'm pretty sure I managed to eliminate him before I collapsed. The chase led me to the Konoha gates.'

'My black-ops didn't find any other bodies in the surrounding area, Naruto,' He says dryly. 

Shit.

'Welll... maybe I didn't get him afterall?' She lets out a nervous chuckle - hoping that Kakashi who she knows is smell sensitive can't pick up on her scent of guilt and nervousness. Seeing his skepitcal look she rushes on. 'I don't mean any harm to Konoha, old man.' At Kakashi's indiginant squawk and Minato's pinched face, she's almost certain she's almost certain she's about to get pulverized.

It's one thing when everyone knew you were and your father had saved the villages life, but it was another show up completely unidentified and begin throwing titles out the metaphorical window. 

The third Hokage stares at her for a long time, and then lets out a deep laugh. In fact he laughs so loudly that the rest of the room goes abruptly silent, but it doesn't stop the way Minato gapes and the way Naru's lips begin to tick up in a soft smile. Jiji is a teddy bear at heart, she knows. 

'You're very spirited, young woman,' He pats her head fondly, his face relaxed now. 'I believe you, Naruto. However, if you want to stay in Konoha -', He peers at her thoughtfully. 'You do want to stay right?'

Naru nods her head. 

'Okay, well, since you want to stay, some things will have to be sorted out. For starters, we'll have to get you documentation so that when you get started on missions and things like that, you'll be permitted to leave the village. Second, Minato has told me that you have no guardians at the moment. We'll have to find you some place to live for the time being. Of course, that decision is entirely up to you. As of right now, you currently have four options.'

'Four?' Naru echoes in disbelief. 'Who already wants to take me in?' A figure shifts from behind her and Naru whirls around instantly. 'No way Kakashi-kun is inviting me to live with him!' She all but shrieks. The boy in question rolls his eyes and shifts on his feet awkwardly. 

'Listen to all your options, first, Naru-chan'. 

Turning back to Jiji, he continues telling her. 'Of course, as you've figured out, you can live with Kakashi-kun if you wish. Your other options would be the orphanage, which would support you financially until you're 17 years old. Finally, if you want, you can live by yourself. Of course, there will be bi-monthly check ups to make sure you're okay, as you're still a minor. However, Minato-san has also offered his house up if you wish to stay with him.'

Minato kneels next to her. It's almost a dream come true. Getting to live and have a home with her parents like she was supposed to have done - even if they don't know it. 

'I am willing to let you stay with myself and Kushina-san, Naru. Kushina and I are dating, but we live together. You're not required to do so but you have a home with us if you wish.'

Naru wishes she could say she kept the tears at bay, but she doesn't. She throws her arm around Minato, and lets her tears fall down her face and seep into the collar of his jonin flak jacket, turning the fabric a darker green than what is already is. 'Thank you, Minato-san!' Then she pulls back regretfully. 'Unfortunately, I have to say no to you. You too, Kakashi,' She gives him a genuine smile while wiping the tears from her whiskered cheeks. 'While I appreciate your offers, truely, I do, I can't stay with anyone. I've been on my own for a long time, and that's how I like it. So I think I'll stay by myself.' 

Well, actually, that's a lie. Naru would love to live with her parents or Kakashi. But, she can't serve her purpose for being here if she's always being watched over. This independence is a necessary evil to deal with for the time being. 

'Are you certain, Naruto?' The Hokage asks.

'I am, dattebayo!' She pumps her fist in the air enthusiastically, ignoring Kakashi's huff of annoyance. 

'Okay,' Jiji says. 'Now, you're still ten years old so by Academy standards, you'd have already graduated but you haven't attended any amount of schooling. 'However,' He says, seeing her about to protest, 'We can test you. If your skills rank that of a genin or chunin, we can promote you like we've done with Kakashi-kun. If you pass the test, you'll be placed on a team more specific to your rank level. How does that sound?' 

'Sounds good, old man!' Naru says enthusiastically, pleased that her induction into this timeline isn't nearly as difficult as she'd thought it'd be. 

'Okay, Naruto. That'll be it for now. Kakashi will take you to your new apartment and help you get settled in. I'm going to give you some money so that you can shop for necessities - food, clothes, and that sort of thing.' 

'Okay! See you later, Hokage-sama, Minato-san!' They wave her goodbye and then Kakashi is ushering her back out the door. 

\--><\--

The apartment Kakashi takes her to isn't so far from where she first lived in her original time, but it's certainly nicer. It's a mostly silent walk. Kakashi seems adverse to talking, and Naru has no problem with that. It helps her collect her thoughts for a while. She needs to plan out what moves she's going to make in order to stop the disaster that is the Fourth Great Ninja War. 

Whenever Team Minato leaves for their Kannabi Bridge mission, Naru must be there, regardless of whether or not she's put on their genin team. Obito is another loss that can be avoided - not just Rin. And by preventing Obito's untimely departure, she can also save her parents in the process. 

However, she has no idea what to do when she's done with her mission. The only reason the space-time seal had even worked in the first place was because Obito had used his Kamui as well. However, with her preventing that timeline from even happening, she's unsure of what future she's supposed to go back to. It hits her then, like a freight train. She might never know Sasuke and Sakura and all her other classmates like she once had. Sure, they'd be born and grow up and she'd see them. But she was already ten years their senior in this time. The chances of her becoming their sensei were far more likely than them creeping around to find out what was under their sensei's mask.

Shaking that thought out of her head, Naru pushes some of her blonde hair out of her eyes. Kakashi is slowing down now in front of tall six story building with yellow walls and a bright - sunshiney vibe. 

'Is this me, then?' 

Kakashi fixes her with a dead stare, and motions her up the stairs while handing her a set of keys. 'Try not to get yourself killed, Naruto,' He calls as he turns around and makes his way back down the street. 'Because I can guarantee you I won't be there to save you.'

Naru lets out an unladylike snort at his retreating back. 'Try not to get that stick shoved up your ass any further, Hatake. Too much more and it'll be permanently stuck!' She's not surprised when he doesn't retort back. Kakashi was always a quiet one. Once he disappears completely around the corner, she lets herself into the building. 

The interior of the building is narrow but warm, like the walls weren't painted fully white. The stairs are wooden and creak when she steps on them but personally she feels that it makes them more lived in. The inside of her actual apartment is homely for lack of a better word. 

It's bare, but the walls are blue like the color of a forget-me-not blossom, and theres a single square coffee table sitting by an expansive open window that gives view to the open field behind the building. There's a single kitchen that she can practically vow she'll never use unless it's ramen related, and a bedroom with no bed (yet). The bathroom is small with a counter top and a shower. It's small but it's meant for one person and that's all that matters. 

But - no. None of this is really important in the grand scheme of things. This apartment, this life, they're all just temporary for her. Naru can't afford to get distracted no matter how much she'd love to fall into the open arms of her parents. She can't get too close to Obito and Rin, and she can't regard Kakashi in the younger manner that he is right now. She can't greet Itachi without wanting to fight, and she can't look at any of them without seeing them die. 

_Temporary_ , she reminds herself. _It's all temporary._

\--><\--

Jiji has given her a healthy sum of money to shop for appliances and clothes. However... things don't always work out the way life intends it to. For starters, all the money goes to ramen, ink, brushes, sealing scrolls, and a shinobi outfit that resembles her old one. It's a black crop jacket with mesh sleeves and an orange sheath with black shorts underneath, and standard ninja shoes. It's nothing too fancy, but it reminds her of home. _Her_ home. 

The only necessary thing she'd really gotten was a sleeping bag and an extra set of covers. Mattresses and pillows weren't something she was used to, having spent most of her time rolling around in tents on the cold hard ground. 

Later that night, an ANBU member had stopped by her window to hand her a slip of paper with Jiji's distinct scrawl on it. It had said that she was to travel to Training Ground 28 the following day, and enclosed with the note was a map. Not that she needed it, she knew the streets of Konoha like she knew herself. But she had taken it anyways.

Naru's sleep was fitful that night and she was up before six that day. She barely felt tired. The pressure was really on, and she couldn't afford to make mistakes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!   
> Happy reading and stay safe :)


	3. Ninja Initiation  Day

Naruto decided that day when she rose for her match at Training Ground 28 that she was going to have to do this the hard way. She couldn't afford to form relationships and bonds with any of the people and as much as it would kill her to put some much needed distance between her and everyone else, it was a necessary evil. If it meant she managed to finish her mission more efficiently, it had to be done. Plus, it would be easier to cut ties when she left this time if she didn't make any to begin with. 

She had a future to save and that took precedent over everything else. The friendly disposition she had going for her would be going down the drain soon enough. And, to be honest, whatever they thought about her was moot. Liking her wasn't important. Afterall, one of the very first rules taught at the Academy was that a shinobi always puts the mission first.

With that in mind, she skipped breakfast and shucked on her new shinobi grade uniform. She was early so she grabbed her ink pot and scrolls as well. If she was going to be successful, her sealing would be useful. 

Naru's travels to Training Ground 28 were nostalgic . The feeling of the bright sun washing over her already tan features felt like dipping in a pool of warmth and love. When she breathed, the air was not stale like it had been back in her time, and the smell of ramen and trees and dirt and fresh water wafted through the air and invaded her senses. It would be so easy to just... forget the mission. 

' _Shut up,'_ she told herself. 

No one else had arrived at the training ground when she got there. Naru sat under a tree that had dappled apples, and spread out her scrolling paper and got to work. Before she had left for this timeline, Obito and her had gone through seals they thought would be necessary for her to learn. Dipping her brush carefully into the ink pot, she let a drop of the dark liquid arc through the air before she brought it down on her paper. Each one of her strokes flowed like water, smoothly and without falter. It was a storage seal, which would be convenient for carrying weaponry like shuriken, kunai, and senbon, as well as her sealing materials. 

When she was done, she waved a chakra coated hand over the seal and slapped her own arm. Learning how to transfer seals onto her own person had been difficult, but now that she knew how, it made life a lot easier. 

A voice came from behind her. "Shinobi that live in Uzushiogakure are notorious for being covered in seals. It's no surprise that you would pick up on their customs regardless of your young departure from the village." When she turned around, she wanted to give Minato the biggest smile, but she reeled it in. 

Calm and collected. No attachments. 

"We are, Minato-san", She said steadily, turning back to her papers. "I've found them very useful to have while in battle. Of course, most of them don't last a long time. Only as long as I need them."

"That's very impressive for you to have learned how to do. You're so young." There was almost a sliver of pride in his voice, and oh god, her heart _ached_. 

His shadow was cast over her scrolls and she clacked her teeth together in false annoyance. "Can you move out the way? I can't see what I'm doing." 

There was a moment of silence before he murmured, "My apologies, Naruto-chan." His tall figure moved out the way. Naru let the robotic movements of her brush calm her. "As you know, you'll be taking a test today to administer your place here in Konoha. Myself and Fugaku Uchiha will be overseeing your match." 

"Who will I be fighting?"

"Your opponent today is Kakashi. Of course, we won't be placing you based on whether or not you win today. You'll be promoted based on your demonstration of skill and logistics used in the match. If we can see that you know how to utilize your chakra and what you've learned sufficiently in battle, then it won't matter if you win or not."

"When will I know the results of the match?" Naru was glad that her father hadn't attempted to make further small talk, and was giving it to her straight. The less they tried, the easier it would be for her. Although if she was put on his genin team, then it would be a bit hard to not care. 

Well, she would care regardless. She just wouldn't be showing it. 

Minato scratched his chin, his blonde hair waving slightly in the wind. "I don't know. You'll know whether or not you're being promoted today. However, I won't be able to tell you what team you'll be on today. Once the match has concluded, the jonins and the Council will hold a formal meeting discussing your placement. Your skillset will be taken by advanatage of by a team that lacks your specialization." Naru's eyebrows furrowed. She wondered if she could make a formal request to be placed on Team Minato. Mistaking her expression for nerves, Minato smiled widely at her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"Don't worry, Naruto!" He said confidently. "I have faith that you'll ace this match, if the way you can already seal is any indication. You're already very advanced."

"Thanks," She said monotonously. Ignoring the way his blue eyes stared her down, she picked up her brush again and continued painting the seals, hoping he didn't prod. He didn't, thankfully. Distracted by Kakashi's entrance, he moved away from the tree she was under and went to greet his student. 

"Kakashi!" Was his cheerful greeting. 

"Sensei. Where is Uchiha-san?"

"He hasn't arrived yet." Naru cursed when Minato said, "Why don't you say hello to Naru-chan over there?" There was a bit of drawn silence and a slight scuffle, before footsteps crunching over grass and leaves approached her from behind. 

"Naruto," Kakashi drawled, plopping his bag on the base of the tree, before pulling out his weapon pouch. There was a click of a buckle, and she knew he was fastening it around his waist. 

"Kakashi," She greeted back, her tone even, wondering _why_ Fugaku Uchiha had chosen to be late today of all days. She was sure as clan leader he was usually punctual, but it was just her luck. 

"Uchiha-san is almost here", The silver haired boy said. "I suggest you get up so we can get this match started." She didn’t question it. Kakashi’s keen sense of smell would probably identify any common scents in the area.

Naruto sighed, letting her breath send her blonde locks distraught for a moment and then carefully placed the drying scrolls and ink pot and brush into her newly crafted seal. 

Kakashi looked on, his eyes raising in interest. "Where did you learn how to do that?" He all but demanded, staring at her arm like he expected the scrolls to jump out at him. 

"My caretaker taught me how to seal when we were on the move." She shrugs, moving to straighten her sheath as she gets on her feet. He doesn’t say anything more on the topic, but she knows he’s burning with curiosity. It reminds of her Sasuke when they had both needed advice on chakra control, but the teme had been too stubborn to say he needed help.

What an _idiot_. 

—><—

Fugaku Uchiha looked more like Itachi than Sasuke, if you asked Naruto. He had long dark hair, but not as dark as his son’s. He also had the same tired eye lines that Itachi did, but he was also more tan.

Either way, Naruto is a bit startled for her first meeting with her best friend’s father. It’s hard to look at someone when you know that they’ll be dead soon. Maybe if she’s lucky, she can destabilize Root and kill Danzo before the orders to annihilate the entirety of the Uchiha clan are given. Of course, she'd have to speak to someone about dissuading the Uchiha clan from planning their coup. However, if all went according to plan and she managed to save Obito, then the Nine Tails probably wouldn't end up attacking Konoha, which meant that no one would be pointing fingers in the first place. 

"Okay, Naruto! Kakashi!" Minato called to them cheerfully. "You two will spar using genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu. Kunai and shuriken are allowed, but this is not a deathmatch! The match will be over when one of you surrenders or when Fugaku or I declare it the end. Understand?" At their nods, he motioned to them with his head. "Begin!"

Kakashi stood with his back to the tree line, his eyes never moving off her stand-straight figure. 

Naru's blue eyes narrowed on his gray ones, and let the wind surround her completely. Sage Mode wasn't something she'd be using any time soon, but she could feel the nature's rhythm all around her, cocooning her like a shield. Exhaling loudly, she prepared herself as Kakashi ran through a series of hand signs before rushing towards her. His whole figure crackled with blue and purple light, like lightning was coursing through his body. 

Naru's hand shot up to catch the arm of the clone Kakashi had made, and as it dispelled, she ran to meet her opponent. "Fuuton: Happa Shinkuutai!" Naru shouted, letting the chakra in her flow out to meet the wind. Kakashi slowed down slightly and Naru tried for an uppercut punch, before he was swerving. His leg lashed out to hit her side. Naru dodged and dug her feet into the ground, before coating her wrist in chakra and pushing towards Kakashi's chest. Cursing as electricity radiating off of him shocked her, Naru lunged to the left before his prepared blow could hit her. Quick as a flash, she had three shuriken between her fingers and aimed at Kakashi. They went flying, and she was anything but surprised when his deftly held kunai blocked all three, before he dropped and rolled away. 

"Fuuton: Kaze Bunshin," Naru performed the hand signs and retreated behind the thirty clones in front of her. Kakashi's whole body channeled electricity as he stared at her wind clones. One by one, her clones punched and kicked and dodged. Naru slipped underneath the ground and waited for the last of her clones to be dispersed. When Kakashi had punched the last one, Naru sprung out of the ground with a chakra coated fist aimed at his chest. Kakashi's eyes widened as her fist made impact with his stomach, and he was sent flying backwards, his hands clutched over his stomach. 

He barely had given himself any down time before he was back on his feet, his small hands rapidly running through gestures. 

"Raiton: Yaiba no Jutsu!" His voice echoed over the sound of the wind. An electric blade appeared in his hands, and Naru instantly dug out a kunai. Kakashi rushed to her, and their blades met with a sharp static sound. They pushed back and forth before Naru grunted, and Kakashi's blade zapped her cheek, leaving behind the sting of a bleeding cut. 

She was immediatly on defense, and jogged backwards. Naru pulled the wind in and let it circle her until she could no longer be seen. Summoning another clone, she dug a shuriken out of her weapons pouch and transformed herself in it's place. Her clone threw it and Kakashi dodged easily, only for her retransform and throw another at him. The shuriken grazed the bit of skin that was peeking out from between his t-shirt and metal armplates. 

The wind whipped through his hair violently as he stood between her and the clone. He was still for a moment before he charged at her clone, a swift kunai to it's abdomen dispelling it. Turning around, he launched a shuriken at her. Naru dodged, only to be pulled into a headlock.

Shit. She hadn't seen him make a clone. 

Kakashi's clone wrapped his forearm squarely around her neck, and her arms flailed. Still, her hand's reached for her last kunai and jammed it into his thigh. The clone grunted and then disappeared. 

Naru whirled around and met her former sensei's hard stare. Then together they shouted.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

"Raiton: Denshi no Jutsu!"

Kakashi's ball of electricity spun towards her as her wind sphere flew towards him. 

Too fast, it was too fast. 

Hers too, because she saw his expression before her attack slammed into him and he was sprawling on his back. The lightning buzzed through her unpleasantly and sent her flying a few feet. Groaning as her limbs shivered, she struggled to get back to her feet.

Naru was used to battle and fighting, and could fight better than she was now. But it was harder when you were back in a 10-year old body, with no Kurama. 

Still, she had to make a good impression. She was dusting off her sheath and pulling out a shuriken and Kakashi was sprinting towards her, his body flying in a way that she knew meant she was about to be hit with a series of kicks when Minato was stepping between them. "THE MATCH IS OVER!" He shouted to them, turning back and forth so that they both understood. Naruto heaved a large breath, and was pleased when Kakashi did the same, his silver hair sticking to his forehead. He slowed down, stopping his feet from bring him to her.

Her and Kakashi both crowded by where Minato and Fugaku had been watching. 

Fugaku was mostly quiet, though he did murmur, "Good job, children." Kakashi scowled, and Naruto bowed her head. 

"That was certainly an interesting match," Minato said brightly. "Kakashi uses lightning chakra type, Naru-chan. And from the amount of wind jutsus you were able to pull out of your sleeves today, I can only assume you use wind type chakra."

"Yes, Minato-san."

He beamed. "I'm also a wind style user, so maybe I can teach you somethings. But besides that, you passed! You'll be promoted to chunin, and once Fugaku informs the Council of our decision, they'll work on placing you on a team." The yellow haired sensei turned to his student then. "Kakashi! You did great," He ruffled the boy's hair fondly. "Your aim for your Denshin no Jutsu has really improved," Minato complimented.

"The curve of the electricity is hard to maintain sometimes,'' He explained. "I've been working on it." 

"You have, indeed. And it's paying off!" He clapped his hands together. "How about we get something to eat? It's on me."

And as tempting as that was - "Sorry, Minato-san," Naru smiled tightly knowing it didn't reach her eyes. "I have some things to do before I can settle in. I'll see you around, though. You too, Kakashi-kun, Fugaku-san." Without waiting for their responses, she was off, bounding to her dappled tree and pulling an apple off the stem before heading back home. 

\--><\--

It was a few days after her sparring match with Kakashi that she heard the news. She had been lounging in a tree, cup of ramen in hand. Slurping down the delicious microwave meal, her legs were kicked up lazily in front of her. The tree was edged near the village where civillians and shinobi alike roamed. Two flak jackets below her had been strolling, chunin if she had to guess, because they weren't able to discern her chakra from above them. 

It was boring, when you were trying to actively distance yourself from people. Although, it had become sort of like a game to dodge in and out of streets and duck under vendors to avoid people. Just the previous day, she had seen Rin and had narrowly channeled chakra into her feet to make her quick escape over the rooftops. No one paid her any mind. She was just another face in the crowd, afterall. 

Still, when you were alone all the time, it made it easy to catch all the town gossip. Which was how she had come to learn that Team Minato was leaving for their Kannabi Bridge mission in a days time. ' _What the actual fuck,'_ she had internally screamed. It was poor timing on their part too, because the Council had requested she meet with them the next day so they could disclose what team she'd be on. 

The universe couldn't have planned it better if it had tried. 

It had went something like this. 

The first chunin had turned casually to his partner, and had said, "Did you hear?"

Naru paused her obnoxious chowing to listen. Cheeks stuffed with ramen, she peered over the edge of the branch to catch sight of the two men. 

"Hear what?" The other had questioned.

"Minato-san and his team are leaving for a mission tomorrow! They're going on an infiltration opp to Kannabi Bridge!" 

Which had prompted Naru to choke fitfully on her ramen, coughing and spluttering until the two chunin had caught sight of her and flushed. She guessed that Team Minato's mission was supposed to be kept a secret, but they were clearly doing a terrible job. Although, it did work out in her favor. But, she had been surprised that their Kannabi Bridge mission would have been so close to her arrival. 

Well, the Council could go screw themselves then, she guessed. This mission was part one of a two part turning point for their future, and she couldn't afford to let it slip through her fingers. 

"Hey! Who are you?" One of the boys called up at her. "And why are you hiding in that tree?"

"I'm not hiding!" She hollered. "I'm eating!" 

"Why are you spying on us?" The other accused, his finger pointed at her.

Naru snorted and tossed her blonde hair over her shirt. "I'm not spying, idiot. I was here before you were. You passed under the tree." A devilish glint glittered in her eyes, making them both gulp. "I did hear something really interesting about Minato-san, though. Maybe I should go talk to him about it..." Her threat lingered. 

And it worked like a charm.

"No, no! Please, Ms...?" He trailed off. 

"Naruto," Naru filled in. "And I'll forget I heard anything if you forget you saw me. Deal?"

"Yes, Naruto-san!" They chorused, and she grinned widely, letting her sharp teeth glimmer. 

"Thanks boys!" She scooped up her ramen bowl and jumped off her branch and onto the next. Interesting. She had some planning to get to. 

\--><\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’m back with this chapter, and as a commenter so helpfully pointed out, I needed to work on my quotations and things like so I hope I fixed it properly. I also hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Also I’m not too good with fight scenes (especially ninja fight scenes lol) so take it easy. 
> 
> Happy reading :)  
> And stay safe, guys! The vaccine is out but we still need to be cautious.


	4. Split

Naruto had spent the night transferring seals onto her skin, as well as making sure had no explosive tags on her - the last thing they needed tomorrow was another reason to bring the cave down. The moon shone through the treetops, and she sat by the light through her window, working meticulously on the scrolls. It wasn't so late out. Adults were out still walking the streets, and the low hum of the night life buzzed pleasantly in the air. 

Still, it was dark enough, though, that when there was a sharp knock on her door, and soft set of mumbles, Naru grabbed the nearest kunai and spun it lightly around her fingers. Inching towards the door, she peered through the doorhole, and let out an audibe breath when Obito's spiky black hair and Kakashi's bored eyes came into view. In Obito's hands was a small plant, that resembled the plant she had gifted her sensei some time ago. She stuffed the kunai into her pocket before she opened the door.

Prying the lock open and twisting the knob, she groaned lightly. Another moment of pretending then. 

Obito grinned widely at her, and Kakashi sent her a well recognizable two finger salute.

"Hello, Naru-chan!" Obito crowed, pushing his way into her small house as she stepped back. Kakashi followed suit. They both were out of their shinboi wear, but still wore their leaf forehead protectors. He peered around her dark apartment. "Wow! It's really dark in here. Why don't you turn on the lights?"

"I didn't buy any bulbs," Naru deadpanned, shutting the door behind their figures. "And I like the dark." She watched as Obito placed the plant on her small table. "What's with the plant, Obito-kun?" 

"Kakashi, Rin, and I bought you it as a housewarming gift as to welcome you to Konoha." 

"Kakashi did, huh?" Naru couldn't help but raise a skeptical eyebrow in the silver haired boy's direction. 

"Well don't become too, polite, Naru-chan," He said, though the honorific was said mockingly. 

Ignoring his snark, Naruto gestured them to the table. Obito took a seat, and Kakashi remained standing to inspect the rest of her house. There was a collecitve silence as the two looked at each other. 

"So. What brings you two around tonight? Shouldn't you be preparing for your mission tomorrow?" 

"How do you know about that?" Kakashi scowled. He picked up a sealing scroll that balanced precariously on the kitchen counter and gave it a distracted once over as he said, "I bet it was that loudmouth chunin that was present during our mission brief. Idiot." Naruto watched as he ducked under the rest of the cabinet and rummaged around her stores like a robber on a mission. The Kakashi of her timeline had been just as invasive, if not more subtle about it. 

Naruto couldn't help but ask, "Do you make a habit of going through people's things uninvited?" And despite her visible annoyance, a bit of fondness seeped through her tone - something that chibi Kakashi was unable to catch. The truth of it was, was that she missed her Sensei. The Kakashi of this world was just as fine as any, if only a bit more stubborn and arrogant and thickheaded than what she was used to seeing. 

_Her_ Kakashi had a certain air of sagacity about him that made him seem a bit divine at times. Not when he was reading those porn novels, or when he was routinely showing up late to whatever had a designated time meet, but when he was alone and unaware that someone was really paying attention. Naruto thought she saw this most often when he visited the Memorial Stone and stood there unmoving for hours, wallowing in his guilt and his surplus of feelings that he never allowed to show. Not to say that he didn't make mistakes, but Kakashi was a celestial in his own right. He understood the deeper intricacies of emotions where others didn't, and she suspected it had something to do with all the pain he had already been through in his lifetime. _This_ Kakashi had experienced pain, yes, but not to the much higher extent that her Kakashi had. And perhaps, he would not be so divine for it later but, Naruto thought that this change would be one she would not feel weigh on her heart. 

She watched and scowled when all Kakashi did was pick up one of the many packaged ramens and shook it. Then he threw it back in like if he held it longer it might catch on fire. 

"We've already packed our weapon pouchs and travel packs," Obito said proudly, fist pumping in the air, seemingly uncaring that Naruto knew about a mission that was on a strict need to know basis. Naru only watched him. How it hurt to know that Obito's destiny had led him to a mission in which he was crushed by a boulder the very next day. It seemed cruel. Life was unfair that way. Where this Obito was happy and young and unburdened by pain, she could not help but compare him to this older counterpart who had been bitter and with a lost heart - gone when Rin had died. 

"And? Where's Rin? Two Muskeeters hardly go anywhere without the final one, no?" Naru hummed, picking at the potted plant that lay between her and the darked haired Uchiha. Kakashi snorted in distaste at the idea of them - _him_ , and Rin, and Obito being a trio. 

"Rin has a shift at the hospital tonight. She's training to be a medic, so she often trails the nurses and doctors and they let her assist with some of the patients, sometimes," Obito explained, his cheeks flushing lightly at the mention of his object of affections. "She's really amazing, ya know. With how she heals everyone and is just so -"

"Obito's an in love idiot," Kakashi said _with no tact whatsoever_ , bent over from pulling out a superstitious shuriken from its hiding spot from behind the fridge handle. He spun it on his finger, ignoring Obito's shriek of outrage. 

"Take that back, Bakashi!" Obito pointed at his younger teammate.

"I'll take it back when it's not true."

Obito turned desperately to the blonde. "Don't believe a word out of Bakashi's mouth, Naruto-chan! And uh.. don't tell anyone that he said that either."

Wow. Naru shifted in her seat. Obito had really loved Rin, as young as he was now. She was one of his.. _especially_ precious people. "Wow. That's really cool," She said lamely, trying to school her features, almost unsure on how to confront the whole romantic feelings thing Obito clearly had going on for him. Naruto had never been in a relationship - had never considered anyone in that way, and had never had time for it either. "But that doesn't explain why you two are here." She winced internally when Obito's bright face faltered. 

"We just wanted to check in before we left tomorrow. We don't know how long we'll be on our infilitration mission, but Minato-sensei told us you'll be placed on your team tomorrow. I just wanted to say good luck! Kakashi too, and Rin. She asked us to pass along the message because well, we -"

"I don't need it," Naruto said cooly crossing her arms almost defiantly. "And I'd like to get some sleep now, so I'd appreciate it if you could see yourselves out." Obito looked like a kicked puppy, and Naru tried not to cringe under his pouting gaze.

There. That ought to make them steer clear from now on. Kakashi and Obito exchanged glances - something Naru was sure was a rare occurence- before the latter was mumuring a farewell. They pushed in their chairs and she didn't turn to look when her door clicked open and then shut as they left.

_Fuck_. It was _so_ hard.

\--><\--

Jiji had scheduled the Council meeting for 8:45 A.M. which was, by normal people standards, obnoxiously early. At least, that's what Naruto thought, as she uncurled herself from her sleeping bag.

But, Team Minato was leaving the village at 9:00, so it actually worked out in her favor. Throwing on her shinobi gear, she tied her hair up in a high ponytail, which would work better in the humid Konoha air. She strapped on her newly restocked weapons pouch, and began smoothing out her seals on her skin so that she could use them when she left later. There had to be more time before they actually reached the hideout and collapsed the bridge.

Naruto had never been allowed in Council meetings in her time because she'd been either too young, or just not important enough. Clan heads and personal staff on the Hokage's team were allowed in.

When she stepped out of her apartment, the crisp cool air welcomed her. The grass was dewy beneath her feet, like it had rained the previous night. The sky was streaked with orange of a now rising sun, and she prayed that it would work out in her favor. She'd be there in time to save Obito. She had to be. 

Her feet carried her thoughtlessly to the Konoha Council's meeting place. There was a single jonin waiting in front of the gold embellished white doors, and he nodded at her politely. Naru nodded back, and pushed open the doors. 

The Council area was a grand meeting room of sorts. There was a large podium at the very center of the room under marble floor, and each side of the room was held back behind white rails that had to be filed in through. Behind each railing was a clan marking. At the far center end stood a small crop of formally dressed Shinobi. One of them was immediatly noticable. Danzo Shimura stood proudly, and Naruto had to stop herself from clenching her fists in distate at the sight of the man.

To her left stood the fan of the Uchiha, their banner waving proudly, and Fugaku and Itachi standing side by side. 

' _Huh. Itachi was really cute for a kid - much cuter when he wasn't trying to murder you,_ ' Naru noted internally.

Besides them was the marking of the Sarutobi, although the Hokage himself had already taken resident behind the podium leaving their clan box empty. Closer down was the Akimichi clan where Naru could see Choji's father - Choza Akimichi. After that, it wasn't a surprise to see the Nara and Yamanaka clans side by side, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio sticking together no matter what. 

The right side was of the same density. To her far right was the Senju clan, although Naru already knew that Tsunade had left Konoha by now. Next to them was the Aburame clan, and then the Hyuugas and Inuzukas. 

What Naruto saw next had her stopping short. 

She’d had no idea - none at all, that the Uzumaki clan had their own spot on the Konoha Council. She had known of course, that Konoha and Uzushio had been allies, but never this. So it was even more of a surprise when bright red hair greeted her from the clan box. A slim woman with a smiling face and dark eyes, and a penchant for shuffling sat by her lonesome, and there wasn't a single doubt within Naruto's mind.

Kushina Uzumaki.

Naru's mom. 

_Holy shit._

Her mom was right there, and she couldn't even go up to her and give her a hug like she so desperately wanted to. She craved the warmth of a family, and the childhood that the villagers of Konoha had stolen from her. 

Just when she thought she couldn't get any more shell-shocked, there was a brief tap to her shoulder before Kakashi was boring her gaze with his gray eyes. "Excuse me, Naruto. I have to get to my clan box and you're standing in the middle of the door." Naru continued to stare at him, her mouth gaping. "Well?' He waved his hand in front of her face when she didn't move. 'Are you deaf or are you dumb?"

"Aren't you supposed to be going on a mission at any moment now?" Naru blurted, eyes wide. 

Kakashi rolled his eyes so hard that she was surprised they didn't get permanently stuck inside his head. "And they made _you_ a chunin? Honestly, use your brain. If you even have one. I'm a clone. And I'm the only one to stand in for the Hatake clan."

Oh. Yes. Well that made sense. Kakashi's father had committed suicide, so she supposed there was no one left to act as clan head. In fact, if she had managed to continue her track down the clan boxes after the Uzumaki, she would have seen the Hatake box, it's diamond waving wildly at the other clans. Still it was so surprising. Kakashi was only a year older than her now, and he was taking care of official clan politics and partaking in Council meetings where his opinion _mattered_. 

"KAKASHI!" A loud voice screamed happily over the chatter of the clan heads. They both turned to see Kushina - Naru's heart hurt - waving crazily at the silver haired boy, a wide grin on her face. Kakashi's usually hard face softened as he waved back. 

"Who is that?" Naru asked. She wanted to hear what Kakashi had to say. Her sensei hadn't been the most open person, and he hadn't talked much about her family to her. 

"Kushina-nee," He replied. "That's Minato-sensei's girlfriend. I'm going up there now." He moved to leave, but Naru was already grabbing at his shoulder, and mentally cursed herself when he flinched away. Her comfort levels around _her_ Kakashi had been much more lax than _this_ Kakashi.

"Wait!" She said, retracting her arm. At his arched eyebrows, she said, "The Uzumaki clan is from Uzushio, not Konoha. Why is there a Council seat for them?" During her time, Naruto had never had the time to learn clan politics, although it was something she suspected she would've had to delve into once she became closer to becoming Hokage. As it was, she had never sat in on a Council meeting, so the fact that there was an opening for an Uzumaki and she had never been allowed to attend as head of clan was just a little outrageous. 

"The Uzumaki aren't from Konoha," He agreed. "But, Konoha and Uzushio were allies of course. More than allies, they were friends and partners. One of the founders of our village and our Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju, married an Uzushio princess, who went by the name of Mito Uzumaki. In doing this, he united the Senju clan and the Uzumaki clan, and by extension, Uzushiogakure. Konoha has always honoured our alliance with Uzushio. Of course, when Uzushio fell, Konoha wasn't there to aid them in their battle, but offered a home to any remaining survivors. The Uzumaki clan having a spot on the Council despite not being a major clan born to Konoha is a gesture of good faith to show that the Uzumakis will always find a home in Konoha if they have no where else to go." Naru was silent as she processed that. 

Konoha having open arms to the Uzumaki clan was something they hadn't shown when she had been born, regardless of whether or not she had been a jinchuurki. 

Kakashi left her in her thoughts, ducking under the rail and settling himself in front of the Hatake banner, which she suddenly noticed was _also another_ non-major clan. She would have to ask him about that later. 

There was a loud booming sound, as Hiruzen Sarutobi knocked his fist on the wood of the podium. Instantly, the chatter died down, and all attention was given to the Hokage.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," Everyone said in synchronity. 

"Today we're here to discuss Naruto-chan's settlement here in Konoha." Jiji turned to her. "Naruto, you may take a seat." Naruto took a seat. He turned back to the gathered clans. "As you know from Minato-san’s debriefing last week, Naruto was found outside of the gates of Konoha with multiple injuries as well as chakra exhaustion. Minato-san and Fugaku-san of the Uchiha clan conducted a test where Naruto sparred with Kakashi Hatake. They have declared her eligible for the role of a chunin, as she displays a great deal of knowledge of ninjutsu and taijutsu. The Council has been called today to place Naruto on a team. Are there any suggestions that any clan heads want to give? Or does any clan want to claim Naruto?"

There was a collective silence before the head of the Inuzuka clan asked, "What of her chakra affinity?"

Hiruzen nodded for Naruto to answer. Taking her cue, she answered, "My chakra type is suited for wind."

Tsume Inuzuka stood back. "The Inuzuka clan will like to stake a preliminary claim."

Naruto tried not to let her jaw drop. 

Already? A clan claim? And by the Inuzuka clan, too. That was unexpected. If Kiba had known he would've blown a fuse. 

Naruto was not surprised when the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans immediatly backed out of the preliminary claiming. They were both reserved clans that served to the main house clan members that possessed their bloodline powers, and were super selective about who they introduced. 

There were a large amount of jonin-sensei standing nearby, spectating.

Naru was surprised none of them weighed in. 

"The Nara clan believes that Naruto should be added to Minato Namikaze's team. As Minato also uses wind chakra, it would be in Naruto's best interest to be trained under someone who could teach her how to create wind style jutsus. Naruto is also a chunin and would benefit from working with teammates around her own skill level. Uchiha-kun, Hatake-kun, and Nohora-chan are all chunin as well." Shikaku was always a smart one and Naruto internally thanked the man. 

"The Aburame clan believes that Naruto should be inducted into another team. Minato's team is already very strong, so Naruto should be added to a team that needs help."

'Do you have any suggestions?' Jiji asked. 

"Team Choza," The Aburame clan head said. 

The Hokage looked to Choza who sat in the Akimichi clan box. "Would Team Choza be willing to accept Naruto?" He addressed the man directly. 

"We would." Choza said firmly, eyes on Naruto. “However, she has had no previous affiliations. That is a bit worrisome, no?” 

Danzo stood up from his box seat, and turned to the Hokage. "Sandaime-sama, if I may. Introducing Naruto to Konoha may seem like a strategic move, but she is at best, an unknown variable. She has no background to build off, and no family name to reassure us. She has not even underwent an evaluation from T&I." In that moment, Naruto wishes she could have kicked the man in his special spot. Then she'd really be hearing him talk about an _unknown variable_. 

"With all due respect (her ass), I don't think you're a good candidate to judge my character," Naruto said quietly, although she might as well have screamed it with the way every single clan head and their heir turned to look at her in complete shock. Fugaku Uchiha stood up a little straighter at her bold words, and gave her his undivided attention. "Afterall, I think your willingness to subject a ten-year old to a test by your torture and interrogation department says more about you than it does me."

Danzo grew rigid with utter rage. "My priorities lie first and foremost with my village and it's people. You are not one of our people. It does not matter what your age is when you can pose a threat to us."

Naruto let a small smile slip, not to be intimidated by his glare that was radiating killing intent. "Maybe you should take your own morals and ethics into consideration before you question my intentions, Danzo-sama."

”Your apparent need to reject the test is an indicator in itself that you’ve something to hide,” Danzo said.

Naruto couldn’t help but let out a small giggle, and she could see Fugaku’s expression turn alarmed in her peripheral. 

“I will allow myself to be tested under torture and interrogation if you do the same, Danzo-sama.” She sent a sly look in his direction and gave a direct challenge, “I’d bet my life you’ve got a few skeletons in your closet.” 

“Are you implying something?” He demanded. 

Naru shrugged nonchalantly, feigning laxness when all she really wanted to do was go up into the Council’s box and rip off Danzo’s arm before he had a chance to implant the eyes of fallen Uchihas into them. “I think that the word _implications_ leave room for truth and falsities. I’m not implying anything, I’m stating a mere fact.”

“Enough!” The Third Hokage intervened, sensing a clear storm was brewing on the horizon. “Let us continue with the meeting.” 

No one spoke at the clear disrespect in her tone, but Danzo glowered wildly. There would probably be hell to pay for this, but in the end it'd work out when she got to unfolding the bigger picture.

Then, that's when things got _weird_. Kakashi spoke up then, and Naruto was shocked that it wasn't to ask to exile her outright. No. He staked her with a preliminary claim.

"The Hatake clan would like to stake a preliminary claim on Naruto." Naru's head whipped in his direction so fast that she heard the muscles in her neck crack. "I would also like to suggest that Naruto be moved to Team Minato."

And then, Kushina stood up and shouted, "The Uzumaki clan seconds that! Naruto should be added to Team Minato." Naruto thought that perhaps both of those statements were a bit biased, but she wasn't complaining. It was what she wanted anyways. 

And _whoa_. There was a clock on the wall. And it read 10:30. If she didn't leave soon then Obito was going to be crushed under a pile of rocks and then picked up by Madara. Which, could not do for obvious reasons. 

But before she could contemplate that further, _Itachi_ of all people spoke up. Itachi who barely made it to his father's hips and was only five. "The Uchiha clan would like to recommend Naruto to Shisui Uchiha's team."

Now, Naruto had never met Shisui Uchiha, and didn't even know who his teammates and jonin-sensei were, but it was interesting that Itachi trusted her so much to put her on his team. It was an offer that she wouldn't mind, actually. If she could talk to Shisui, he would probably be able to help her destabilize the escalating tension between the Uchihas and the rest of Konoha.

Kushina's red hair was floating dangerously all of a sudden, and the claim staking came to an abrupt halt as she said firmly, "The Uzumaki clan would like to induct Naruto into the clan." Which, okay.

It was one thing to suggest someone to a team, another to stake a preliminary claim, and ANOTHER to induct them into the clan. You could hear a pin drop, and all eyes were racketing back and forth between Kushina and their Hokage. She wondered if Minato had spoken about her to Kushina.

Her father... her mother. Her parents. 

But before he could say anything on the matter, Kakashi's clone dispelled with a cloud, and Naruto was immediatly on her feet. 

"Naruto?" The Hokage asked at her sudden movement. The spotlight was on her. But she couldn't sit around and give excuses. Kakashi's clone didn't dispel in the middle of a Council meeting just because he had felt bored. 

Fuck.

Shit.

"I have to go!" She said, arms flailing as she ducked under the railings and flung herself out of the door at lightspeed. Danzo was going to have her head on a pike for this - this _and_ the stunt she had pulled earlier. Although she'd likely stick said pike so far up his incompetent ass before he got anywhere close to her that it was barely worth thinking about. 

"Naruto! Where are you -?"

But their voices faded into the background as she ran down the road. Naru channeled her chakra into her feet and sped down the road and out of the Konoha gates, not acknowledging the jonin that were on border patrol.

It was too bad she didn't have the keen sense of smell of an Inuzuka or a Hatake, because she could use it now.

No, _but_ she was a sensor. Naruto raced through the forest, letting her feet carry her as fast as they could, her blonde hair whipping behind her like liquid gold. The wind whistled in her air, and the air stung her eyes at the fast speed she was moving. She knew where Kannabi Bridge was. Once she got there she could use her sensory abilities to feel out for Obito's presence. 

The greenery of the trees and bushes faded into a blur, and her steps flowed without pause, no hesitation in her body language. 

Naruto ran for what felt like hours. Following the faint trace of Kakashi that she knew instinctively from fighting by his side for years, she pushed the wind to nip at her feet, driving her further and faster away from Konoha. 

Even without Kurama, Naru had enormous chakra reserves, perks of being an Uzumaki. Still, it was taxing up to keep the long haul through the skies. Gritting her teeth, Naruto pushed the Council meeting out of her head and pushed forward. 

\--><\--

By the time Naruto arrived, Kannabi Bridge had been destroyed, which confirmed the sinking feeling in her gut. Obito had already gotten crushed, and Kakashi had already lost his eye. Pushing down the feeling of guilt that was threatening to puke it's way out of Naru's throat, she recalled the fact that it _wasn't_ too late. She could make it to Obito, and heal him using the remaining essence of the Kyuubi's chakra. 

Naruto called the nature chakra to her. There was no time to meditate. She raced through the trees, letting the pure feeling of unpolluted air and clean waterfalls and the loud call of the wild enhance her senses.

It would only take a moment now. Maybe two.

Her eyes scanned the quickly darkening forest, before her chakra picked up on the faint trail of Obito. Still alive, but barely. Madara hadn't gotten to him yet then. 

She took large leaps in his direction, and summoned a clone. The clone kept with her pace, her hands hovering over the original's as they formed a rasengan. None of the other three members of Team Minato were anywhere in sight, thankfully. 

The clone dispelled, and she made her way into the clearing where the collapse of the cave had clearly happened. There was a hole in the ground, and a number of rocks blocking it, but Naruto pushed her rasengan through it, shattering the stone in tiny pieces. 

What lay underneath had a choked sob rising in Naruto's throat. "No, no no _nonononono_ ," Naru gasped, feeling her throat constrict at the sight of the young boy. She should have skipped the Council meeting - she should have-

Fuck.

For everything Obito had lost. For everything he had become. The sight of the broken boy before her had her jumping into the hole. His entire right side was pinned beneath the rock's weight, and his left eye was closed and blood ran down his cheek and mouth.. and practically everywhere.

It was a horrific sight, but he was breathing. Just faintly. But she could see the slight rise and fall in his chest, and she breathed out in relief, one that got stuck in her throat - although the hard part was far from over. Obito was in a delicate situation right now. Any wrong move could kill him, and she wondered how she was going to heal him enough to bring him all the way back to Konoha in order to get to the medic nin. Kami, did she wish she had Sakura or Tsunade with her right now. 

Well, she supposed the first step would be getting the rock off of him without killing him. Again, she could really use some of Sakura's immense strength to lift the boulder. 

And then she had an idea. Kakashi and Yamato had channeled a lot of effort into helping her learn how to control her wind chakra. The boulder was no waterfall but she was certain that she would be able to cut through the topmost portion so just that a little sliver of it was left on Obito, which she would be able to lift on her own. 

Naru tried not to tremble as she summoned an army of 19 clones. Ten of them went to the other side of the boulder, and nine stayed with her on Obito's side. 

"Okay, guys," Naru said while wiping her sleeve over face, trying to catch the tears she hadn't realized had fell. "Push as much wind chakra as you can to the bottom of the boulder. We have to cut this thing into pieces!" There was a loud cheer in the cave. 

The twenty Narutos got to work. They pressed their hands against the rock and channeled the chakra into their hands and pushed. 

Naruto vaguely remembered thinking that perhaps pushing for birth was easier than pushing for chakra. 

The exercise, although it proved to be meticulous, was good for her adjusting body. Her young figure wasn't used to so much strain but this built up endurance. Sweat began to drop down her neck and down the collar of her crop shirt mixing with her tears, and her hair began to matt against her forehead. Already, the honed chakra was beginning to slip through the surface of the stone. 

"Push harder!" Naruto demanded her clones. There was a collective groan throughout the cave as the clones propelled their strength and chakra into the rock. They were over halfway done now on their side, and Naru suspected that it wouldn't be too much longer till both splits met in the middle. Her thoughts were confirmed when the rock began to creak and slide off towards the other ten clones' side. The dust and the grime stuck to her wet face.

Naruto dispelled them before they could be crushed. The remaining clones with her carefully lifted the slab of rock that was resting on Obito's completely crushed right side. A brief thought popped up in her head - Would Obito even make it without the Hashirama cells he had been rebuilt with in her original timeline?

Naru could only stare as she looked at the extensive damage that Obito had been dealt. His right side had been flattened drastically, and there were shards of bone creaking through his skin like they hadn't had enough space and pushed out. The blood pooling under him was miserable, and red, and oh god, it smelled metallic and salty. 

"Hey, boss, get it together," One of her clones snapped gently. "We need to heal Obito right now, or else he'll die." 

And, she guessed that it was better to try than nothing. 

Nodding jerkily, Naru got down on her knees beside the teenager. "I think if I use Kurama's chakra, it'll heal Obito like how it heals me when I've been severely injured. He's gotten me out of worst situations." Skinned through chakra cloak. Heart crushing. Extraction of the Nine-Tails. 

"Sakura-chan could really have helped now, huh?" Her clone asked sadly.

Naruto chose to ignore that. She would not think about Sakura - Sakura who was dead and gone. Sakura who would never know her like she had before. 

" _This is_ all for Sakura. And for Sasuke and Kakashi. And Shikamaru and Gaara and Iruka. Everyone who died." She said firmly, holding her hands over Obito's chest. Her hands tingled as red Kyuubi chakra began to pour out, fizzling and bubbling like champagne and fire mixed in one. The chakra draped over Obito like a armour made for a knight. It was going to be a long process for sure.

It would be at least a few hours before the healing would allow Obito to be mobile, and not even on his own. It would take a day's travel before they reached Konoha with his added weight.

"Boss," Her clone called softly. "What should I do with this?" On her index finger dangled the strap of Obito's orange tinted goggles.

"Put it in the weapons pouch." The clone slipped Obito's goggles into her pouch and sat beside her.

Naruto closed her eyes partly out of need for concentration, and partly to get the image of Obito lying still looking thoroughly defeated out of her head. 

"Eat a ration bar," She told her clone, eyes still closed, tears still flooding. "We'll need all the energy we can get. We're going to be here a while."

\--><\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’m back with another chapter, and I hope you guys like it!   
> I know Naruto being all up in Danzo’s space was like impulsive but it’s for a good reason and it’ll help me introduce a character or two :)  
> Happy reading!   
> And stay safe.


	5. Team Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Whether you’re single or taken or whatever it is, you do you and enjoy it. Buy some chocolate today. 
> 
> Speaking of love, so as you guys see, the main ship for this fic is Kakashi and Naruto. And okay, I’ve posted chapter five but really, I’m like seven chapters ahead of what I’m posting so I already have a mental scape in my head for where this thing is going.
> 
> Anyways, soon enough you guys are going to be introduced to another character and as I write this persons interaction with Naru, I find myself holding my head over how much I like them together. 
> 
> But, alas. I will stick by my word. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys like the chapter! Stay safe out there, and happy reading :)

It had taken a night’s worth of work for Naruto to heal some of the broken bones in Obito’s body. She had been glad that he was unconscious because some of the things she had been forced to do in order to make sure his bones didn’t overlap or protrude through his skin had looked downright treacherous. Better she fix it all now when he was passed out than when he was awake to feel the pain.

Naru had fixed his shattered lung and all of his ribs, as well as his femur and the other minor bones in his body. 

He still needed intensive care, but once the bones were back in his body, she healed the holes and patches in his skin, so the blood loss wasn’t as imminent. Of course, there was nothing she could do about his eye. She could heal bones and regrow skin but she couldn’t regenerate new limbs and eyes on the whim. She had once, for Kakashi but it wasn’t feasible if Kurama wasn’t with her anymore. 

His arm had been broken so severely that a lot of the bones in it had been sawed down to complete dust, so besides fixing the bones that were just broken, she had left that for more experienced medics to take care of. 

As it was, she had taken a lot of risk healing Obito as she had. Naruto had no real experience with healing seals and jutsus, just the quick scrapes of knowledge she had picked up over the war in desperation. But still, it was better than dragging his body bloody and broken.

"You just had to go and be a self sacrificing hero," She grumbled without any true heat.

As soon as she retracted her hands over his, a wave of tiredness crashed over her, and her eyes fluttered shut as she fell asleep on the cold ground. 

—><—

When Naruto woke up, she was laying side by side with the mangled Uchiha teenager. The darkness from the night had passed, and the sun was already shining brightly. Dawn had already passed.

It was oddly peaceful, and birds chirped from above the branches.

Naruto couldn’t help but think that the sky had no right looking so serene. 

She rolled over and glanced and Obito. He was still out like a light, so she pulled out another ration bar and scarfed it down hastily. 

She was starving and dying for her sleeping bag, a shower, and proper meal. Not necessarily in that order.

Naru didn’t waste time. She summoned two clones, as the others had vanished overnight. 

The other two immediately tended to Obito without being given orders. 

"Okay, guys," Naru’s voiced rasped due to her just awakening. "We need to get Obito back to Konoha at top speed. One of you will help me carry him on either side, and one of you will go ahead to scope out the area. We can't risk running into any Iwa nin with his condition."

"Got it, boss!" One of her clones said. Said clone ran to Obito's side and began gently propping him up, mindful of his issues. The other jumped to the trees and began their journey back home. 

Naru got on Obito's other side and together with her clone, they draped him over them. For a fourteen year old, he was pretty light. Steadily, they sprung into the forest after the clone, and they were extremely considerate to not try and jostle his body. 

\--><\--

Two hours had passed, and Konoha was barely in sight. All the haste in the previous days' travels were slowed down considerably, not only just by Naru's hunger and exhaustion, but out of concern for Obito's still healing body. 

\--><\--

It was at the four hour mark that Obito woke up. They had been jumping through the tree line when a small groan of pain sounded in her ear. Naru stumbled slightly at the unexpected noise. His eyes were slammed shut, and she suspected it had something to do with the one of his eyes being gone, and the other being hypersensitive if he didn't have eyedrops in and goggles on. Naruto was surprised that his pain levels had even allowed him to regain consciousness.

"Where am I? And why do I feel like ten times worse after Minato-sensei and Kakashi have beaten me in sparring?"

"Obito!" Naru heaved a sigh of relief. "I was so worried," She told him, glancing at him out of the corner of her blue eyes. "Try not to move too much, okay? Your right side was nearly crushed to smithereens and I healed as much of it as I could but you're still going to need to go into intensive care."

"Naruto?" Obito's right eye squinted open slightly, to take in her distressed face. "What are you doing here? And where's Rin? And Kakashi and Minato-sensei? The last thing I remember is the cave collapsing and then Kakashi fell..."

"And you threw him out of the way and got crushed by a boulder," She finished with a gentle tone not bothering to sugarcoating the words. "Why I'm here doesn't matter, Obito-kun," She shook her head. "But your team went ahead. They thought you.. they thought you were dead."

"How did you know where I was?" Obito questioned, his eye fluttering shut like he was feeling the effects of not sleeping after so long. "And how did you heal me? And how did you even know to come to find me?"

Naruto hesitated. She could answer one of those questions semi-honestly. The others, she would just have to spin a story. 

"To be honest, I didn't know to come find you. I was at a Council meeting and Kakashi had sent a clone in his stead to represent his clan. But then his clone dispelled in the middle of it and I knew something was wrong, so I ditched and came to Kannabi Bridge. Or what was left of it, anyways," She corrected, thinking of the crumbling and chaotic pathway that had been broken down.

Obito smiled, although he winced while doing so. He laid his head on her clone's shoulder. "So they managed to do it huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, they did," She replied softly, looking ahead to her scouting clone.

"How did you know where I was?" He asked again. 

Naruto shook her head. "All in good time, Obito-kun. Rest. You're injured. I'll make sure you get back to Konoha safely." Obito grumbled but didn't argue and nestled further into her hold before dozing off.

\--><\--

Naruto arrived in Konoha by the time dusk was breaking. There had been no enemies on the way back home, and Kami, if luck was a thing then it had certainly helped her out then. The patrol jonin didn't even ask for identification when she busted through the gates, they just let her run when they saw the mutilated figure that was Obito's body. 

She ran, ran all the way to the hospital with the dark haired boy in her arms, arms burning but unfaltering. 

When she reached, which felt like an eternity, the medical staff all looked up at her loud arrival.

"I NEED A MEDIC NIN RIGHT NOW!" Naruto shouted at the top of her lungs. "I HAVE OBITO UCHIHA AND HE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATLY!" There was a brief pause in movements before the nurses were swarming Obito, and someone was wheeling a gurney towards them. 

"What's wrong with him?" One grabbed Naru by her shoulders and demanded.

Quickly, Naru gave the nurse a rundown of his situation and the healing she had instigated. She didn't like it when the nurse's face paled. But still, she rallied the other nurses and wheeled him down the hall and through a door. No one even spared her a second glance, but it was okay. The chances were that Rin would be around some time or the other and would hear about Obito. 

Just as Naru was about to make her unnoticed escape, a firm hand clasped on her arm. 

It was a strong arm, but a soft smile. A medic nin whose uniform read Daichi bent down to her level, his white uniform clean. His eyes crinkled when he smiled and his hair was a bleached baby blue. 

"Hello, there," His voice was as soft as his smile. "What's your name?"

Naruto swallowed. "Naruto," She whispered. 

"You look dead on your feet, Naruto. Is that your friend that you brought in back there?" 

His questions were catching her so off guard that Naruto almost wanted to say it was creepy, but he was exuding a warmth that made her relax. 

"Obito is... an acquaintance," She struggled for a word for a moment. "And I'm fine. I have huge chakra reserves. I just didn't sleep much, that's all." And then as if her stomach was in kahoots with this guy, it made a huge growl. If she wasn't so sure Kurama was gone she would have accused him for the sound. 

Daichi let out a laugh. "You can sit in the waiting area, Naruto. I'll bring you something to eat, and you can catch up on your sleep while you wait for your... _acquaintance_ ," He gave her an eye smile. 

Naruto waved him off, though. "No, no. It's fine. Obito's probably going to be in there for a while, so I should just go home." 

"Okay. Do you have any family or friends you want me to contact to come pick you up?" Daichi asked kindly.

For a moment, Naruto hesitated. She knew if she put down Minato's name or even Jiji's and Kushina's, none of them would have a problem with coming to get her. As it was though, she didn't want to be questioned about why she had ran off during the Council meetings. And Minato was smart. He'd be able to tell she was lying when he inevitably found out that it was her who had saved Obito and questioned her about her rescue mission. 

"No one. But if you could do me a favor?" At Daichi's encouraging nod, Naruto continued. "Obito's team should be called. If you can get a Minato Namikaze, a Kakashi Hatake, and Rin Nohora to show up to see him, I'd really appreciate it." Naruto didn't want to see them, but that didn't mean they didn't deserve to know that Obito was alive. Now that she really thought about it, she realized she couldn't think of any of Obito's family. Sure, he was an Uchiha which meant by extension, all of the Uchiha clan was related one way or another. But no one he was close to. People who were not in the main clan branch were often disregarded. If Naruto was being honest, the only Uchiha she could name were Sasuke's four person family, Madara, Shisui, and Obito. And yet there had been countless other Uchihas. 

"Okay, Naruto. I can do that. Have a safe trip home!" Daichi waved to her, and immediatly took a giant leap out the front doors and to the Hokage Tower where she presumed Minato was.

Now that the eyes were off her, Naru sighed, suddenly exhausted. Her shoulders ached with the phantom weight of Obito, and her eyes drooped, and she was hungry. So hungry. She began her trek home, and hoped that she could just eat a bowl of ramen, shower, and collapse onto her bed and sleep for a week.

Her feet dragged on Konoha's dirt roads. She didn't have the will to summon chakra to jump back home. So she dragged and dragged until she was standing outside of her sunshine apartment. Each step up felt like another ton of cinder blocks were being added on her back. 

Naruto didn't stop to anything besides heating up her ramen which she ate in record time, the broth scalding her tongue so much that she was certain some of her taste buds were now numb. Then she soaked in the warm water of her bathtub, and barely managed to pull on a long orange t-shirt before she was passing out on her sleeping bag.

She was so tired that no nightmares haunted her. 

\--><\--

Naruto didn’t know how long she had been asleep for. In fact she had only been awoken by the furious pounding on her front door, the sudden racket pushing her into her wartime mode. Her sleep-bleary eyes were still alert when she grabbed her kunai, eyeing the door with suspicion.

But then she heard it underneath all the knocking. A large, heavy, sob. 

Someone was crying outside her door. 

Naruto raised her eyes to ceiling. Was she ready for feelings when she hadn’t even brushed her teeth? Not necessarily. 

Still, she straggled to her feet, her joints popping from disuse for however long she had slept. Kunai still in hand, she crept towards the door and pulled it open. 

The second she did, she barely had the chance to catch sight of the three figures in her doorway before a silver haired boy was on her, the force of his embrace knocking her backwards a few steps. The kunai fell from her grip and clattered on the floor. 

It took her a few seconds to recover from her shock as she realized it was Kakashi. Kakashi who was hugging her. His face had dug into the crook of her neck which was slowly becoming damp - from his tears. 

Rin was next to launch herself on Naru, as she molded herself to the the side of the blonde that Kakashi wasn’t occupying. Suddenly, she had another tearful teenager on her hands. 

A tall shadow fell over them, and Minato stared down at her with eyes that spoke of gratefulness as he placed a comforting hand on Rin’s back. 

"Thank you," Rin breathed. Naruto didn’t need to ask for what. 

Slowly, she brought her hand up and placed it over Kakashi’s back. She could indulge this once, perhaps. 

The two held her tightly while Minato stared on. The door remained wide open behind them but Naru found that she didn’t care. 

It was sometime later though, that the four sat down (on Naruto’s floor - she hadn't gotten around to buying furniture yet, if that day would ever even come). Kakashi and Rin had stopped crying, although their eyes were both puffy and red. 

Kakashi's sharingan eye was uncovered. 

"Doesn't that drain your chakra really fast?" Naru nodded to the red pupil staring back at her intensely. The Kakashi of her time barely let his Sharingan eye go uncovered unless he was in a serious battle. "You don't have the Uchiha genetics so your body wasn't hardwired for handling the Sharingan."

Kakashi touched his still healing scar tenderly. The jagged raw line was pink and had not yet scabbed over properly. "I suppose when I start training, I'll have to cover it more but I haven't done anything exhausting since arriving back yesterday. I also need to learn how to use it. Unless, of course, Obito wants it back."

Naruto made a face. "That's disgusting. It's not nailpolish that you let your friend borrow and return. It's a freaking eyeball that goes in your socket! All you Sharingan users treat your eyes like it’s something you can casually take out, like it’s not connected to nerves and blood vessels. It’s downright animalistic.”

Minato gave her a small chuckle before his face turned serious. "Look, Naruto, I'm really grateful that you were able to save Obito. He was awake for a short while and he told us that you healed him and carried him back to Konoha. And I -" He glanced to his two other students, " _We_ are all very grateful for the deed that you've done. But... what you did was very impulsive and reckless. You ran out of a Council meeting that was determing your own future in Konoha and left the village without backup. How did you even know where we were? How did you know where to find Obito?" Minato shook his head. "I want to believe that you're a good person, Naruto. I really do. In fact, I don't even doubt that you are. But, there are things about you that don't add up. Or at least, you haven't been the most forthcoming about who you really are. And I'm not the only one who thinks so."

The quiet after that was heavy, and neither Kakashi nor Rin dared to say a word, eyes bouncing back between Minato and Naruto. 

Naruto only had a split second to think about what she was going to say. Should she tell him the truth?

No. No. That would only get her sent to T&I, something she wasn't ready for even on her best day. 

"I just had a feeling," Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, daring to survey the room with brilliant blue eyes. Kakashi's eyes narrowed in the slightest, but he didn't say anything to her surprise. 

"You had a feeling?" Minato repeated, sounding disappointed. It was lie, and they all knew it. 

"Look I-," Naruto sighed and wrung her fingers together. She licked her dry lips, and wondered if it was too late to just go back to bed and avoid the conversation all togehter. "I get that you want honesty from me but, that's just something that's not on the table right now." She looked her father in the eye, meeting his stare head on. "Maybe not ever. And I'm sorry but that's how it's going to be. I told myself that I wasn't going to put myself out there. I lost a lot of people when I was home, and more when I was on the road. But I _will_ tell you this. I ran out of that Council meeting because when Kakashi's clone dispelled, I knew something was wrong right away. I don't know you guys very well, but if Konoha is going to be my home then I suppose I should do something good for it. And," She winked trying to lighten to the mood, “I'm a sensor. That's how I found Obito so easily."

"I swear that only raised more questions than it answered," Kakashi deadpanned. 

Meanwhile, Rin's jaw had dropped. "You're a sensor, Naru-chan? That's so cool!" 

Naruto nodded, trying not preen. "I had a sensei once and he taught me how to hone my chakra. Eventually, he began to teach me a cool technique that made me become more aware of my surroundings." Naruto smiled fondly and wondered if Jiraiya would be around to say hello.

Minato was clearly thinking of the white haired sannin too, if his contemplative face was anything to go by. "I think I might know this sensei of yours, Naruto-chan."

"You don't, Minato-san. Trust me."

Minato nodded slowly, his long golden hair bobbing. "Okay, Naruto. I can respect your privacy, but you have to promise that if you need anything, whether it be training or someone to talk to, or if you need a hot meal or backup on a mission. You let me know okay?" He gave her an eye smile, his shoulders loosened now. "And besides, I have a favor to ask you anyways!"

"What's that?" Naruto asked cautiously aware of the way Kakashi and Rin exchanged smirks. 

"Kushina-san wants to invite you to dinner."

"Kushina? As in your girlfriend, Kushina?" 

"The very same!' The jonin beamed. "I hope to see you there! She's absolutely ecstatic to meet the girl who left the Council mid session. And she wants to talk to you a bit more about being inducted into the Uzumaki clan. You haven't been accepted into it, but she wants to know if it's a path you'd like to take."

Naruto gulped. "I don't know if it's -,"

"Nonsense!" He interuppted. "And besides, what's a favor between friends?"

"I'm definitely sure you're not my friend," She mumbled.

"Great! I'll see you there! 8:00 sharp, okay?" He rudely ignored her underhand comment. "And I won't be giving you directions. I want to see how good those sensory abilities of yours are." With that, he grabbed his flak jacket that he had left flung over her kitchen table and busled his way towards the wood door. He glanced back at Kakashi and Rin who hadn't made any moves to follow him. "Are you coming?" He arched an elegant eyebrow.

Rin waved him off. "We'll catch up with you a bit later, Sensei!" Kakashi followed in suit and waved a parting hand. Naruto only glared. Stupid, yellow haired jonins.

Minato pulled on his jacket, but before he left, he turned to her.

"Oh, and Naru-chan?" He called. She turned to look at him. "Kakashi told me about that little... disagreement you and Danzo-sama had." He winced, as though the thought of it was physically causing him pain. "Try to be careful, okay? He's a powerful representative of Konoha and he can make your life miserable if you push too hard. Just a precautionary."

"There's no need for me to be careful," Naruto said boldly, meeting his stare, the fire in her eyes like that of the Kyuubi, wild and untameable and ferocious that could burn you to ashes if you were too reckless. "I can make his life just as miserable as he wishes he could make mine."

Minato didn't seem to know what to say to that. He blinked owlishly for a moment, before turning to Rin. "Don't forget to tell Naruto-chan the great news." And then he was sweeping out the door without a second glance. 

Naruto had to compliment them for waiting until Minato was out of sight before she was being tackled by Rin.

The girl brought her into another life-squeezing hug, her head crushing Naruto's collarbone with a vicious sort of strength. "I cannot thank you enough for saving Obito," Rin said, sniffling. "He's my best friend and the thought of losing him was just terrible!"

Naru patted her back, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She had been touch starved her whole life and even after people had stopped fearing her for being a jinchuurki, for housing the fox, she had never been on the receiving end of the affectionate embraces. 

"There, there, Rin-chan," She said awkwardly. "How is Obito-kun doing anyways?" 

"Oh! We went there this afternoon and checked up on him. He was in surgery for a while but the doctors say he'll be okay. I assume he will have to go through heavy physical therapy before he can begin walking on his own again, but he'll make a full recovery! And it's all thanks to you Naruto! How did you know how to heal him so well?" Rin had launched herself into full medic mode now.

"Oh, ah I don't know. I had a friend and she was crushed by a boulder. I guess I learned from that." Thinking about Sakura made Naru's heart burn. Sakura had been crushed by a boulder but had not survived it. It was crazy to think about how Obito had nearly met the same fate.'

"Oh? And how is she doing now?"

Naruto winced. "Well, she's dead. But, no one was there to heal her. So, Obito'll be okay." Rin's eyes widened, and Naruto could just sense she was about to try and apologize, so she quickly changed the topic. 'You said you check on him this afternoon? I've been asleep for over 15 hours? And what's Minato-san talking about good news?"

Kakashi snorted through his mask, his mismatching eyes boring into her own. "I'm not surprised. You carried Obito on your own for miles, and healed him for a while. That must've taken a lot of chakra with no food. And that reminds me!" Naru watched as Kakashi started getting fired up. "Why didn't you have any food pills in your weapons pouch? That's basic Shinobi carryon! And what is with your apartment, huh? No furniture, no real food!" He gestured to the vast space. 

"I have ramen!" Naru protested. Ramen was very much real food. “And I brought ration bars with me.” 

"Ramen is good in moderation. But other than that it’s completely unhealthy, saturated with salt and fat!” Kakashi hissed. “And food pills replenish your chakra as well as indulges your hunger. And that reminds me! There are no fruits or vegetables in here! No meat or bread or anything like that! No rice! How are you even survivng? You have a sleeping bag for a bed for Kami's sake! How did we buy you a plant as a welcoming gift when you can't even take care of yourself? And you clearly have no sense of self preservation because the first thing you do when you meet the _fucking Council_ is have a verbal sparring match with one of its most respectable members!" He shook his head, his silver hair flopping back and forth with the sudden movement. "I cannot tell if you're bold or you're brave or if you're just downright dumb, because _that_. That was one of the most reckless presentations of insolence I have ever seen! And that's saying something because I see Obito Uchiha on a regular basis." He stood up, and began pacing the length of her kitchen. Naruto and Rin watched on as he continued his rant.

"I had to go and stake a claim on you because without the protection of a clan you'd end up with your head being severed on a skewer!"

Naruto started, "I'm pretty sure I had other clans staking claims on me too so -,"

"Shut up!" Kakashi snarled, pointing an angry finger at her. "I don't wanna hear it from you! You're rash and careless and hotheaded-"

"And heedless?" Naruto suggested.

"-And heedless," Kakashi repeated all in the same breath. "You're a wildcard if I've ever seen one."

Naruto eyed the vein in Kakashi's temple that seemed to be on the verge of combusting at any moment. She had never heard Kakashi speak so much in one go, and with that tone of voice too. "Be careful, Kakashi-kun," Naruto warned, unsure of what was even happening. "It's starting to sound like you care."

"Well, I don't!" Kakashi snapped. _Wow_. A complete 180 then. "I just don't want my _teammate_ getting me killed in the field because her diet was lacking and her sleeping bag made her back hurt or because some power-hungry Council member decided that he needed to prove a point!"

Naruto was sure that that had been the most unsubtle as well as angriest _welcome aboard_ she had ever gotten. But still, she needed to hear it again just to make sure. 'Your _what?'_

"His teammate!" Rin said gleefully. "Well, _our_ teammate," The brunette corrected. "The Council meeting continued without you there. Kushina-nee and some of the other clan heads pulled some strings and managed to get you instated to Team Minato. So you're with us now!"

Kakashi was pointedly not looking at her. Rin was beaming. Naruto was hungry. "Huh," She said absently. "I'm going to get some ramen. Do either of you want?"

Rin snorted into the palm of her hand while glancing at Kakashi. "I think we're okay," Rin said when Kakashi didn't respond. He was too busy glaring down at the small blonde. "I also think we'll be leaving now." Pulling Kakashi towards the door with her, she waved her goodbyes and slipped out the door, walking ahead of her silver-haired teammate. As Kakashi was turning away from her, Naru caught the edge of his brown suspenders. 

"Kakashi."

He stared at her.

Her whiskered face split into a grin. "Congratulations on becoming a jonin." And then she promptly pushed him out her door and slammed it shut behind him. And then smiled when she heard the dull thud his body made when it hit the floor and the muffled curses that followed. 

\--><\--


	6. Be Our Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner at Kushina’s!

Naruto had ran to the flower shop before she began her trek to her parent’s house. Iruka-sensei had taught her that when being invited to someone’s house, it was always polite to bring a gift so flowers seemed like a sure fire way to go. Finding Minato’s place hadn’t been hard at all. 

She hadn’t been able to sense his chakra— he must have been actively trying to shield it, but Kurama who was still residing in her mother was making no efforts to stay on the low. After so many years of becoming familiarized with how the Kyuubi thought and worked, and how his chakra felt, it had been easy to sense Kushina. Not to mention that even if she had never known Kurama, a tailed beast made their presence known just how the energy seemed to radiate off of their general location. 

She had even went out and bought some new black wide length pants with orange stripes circling the bottom. So there. She had tried. She was making an effort to be a gracious guest. 

Dusk had fallen by the time Naruto made her way through the village, and vendors and food stands had all taken to lighting colored lanterns above their produce and wares. There was still the croak of wheels as merchants from neighboring villages sold their goods to those in the Hidden Leaf. 

Kushina's chakra signature in itself was a pale purple, almost like the very center piece of lightning when it striked. However, her chakra was twisted and bearing the brunt of the Kyuubi, and his red and orange flare sparked Naru's senses within seconds. It made her a bit nostalgic, if not sad.

She'd had to seal herself before leaving her house. Naru had needed to surpress whatever remenants of Kyuubi chakra had been left behind after his... sacrifice. If Kushina's tailed beast stirred in response to her own, then they consequences to that would be astronomically terrible. Kurama would no doubt preach about it for a while, and it was sad he wouldn't regard her in the amiable way he had before. 

Before she knew it, her hand was paused in front of the door knocker to her parent's apartment. 

She had an internal debate with herself, flowers clenched in her hand firmly. Finally, she pulled back the knocker and tapped it against the wood three times. She barely had to wait ten seconds before the lock was being unlatched and firm but gentle hands were pulling her into the warm house that smelled like candles and food and _home._

"Took you long enough! You were holding that knocker for like five years, dattebane! I thought you were going to turn around and leave! And oh! Are those flowers you have there Naruto-chan? Minato didn't tell me how polite and cute you were!" Came the same loudly enthusiastic voice from the Council meeting that had called out for Kakashi. This was her mother. Flaming hot hair was bouncing in her every step. Naruto let her arm be linked with Kushina's as she was dragged into the living room, not having spoke a single word. "Your eyes are so blue, dattebane! You'll be such a heartbreaker when you grow up!"

Minato laughed then, louder than Naru had ever heard it and her head snapped up. "Let her breath, Kushina," Minato said fondly, his eyes solely on his better half, eyes filled with apparent adoration and love. His jonin jacket was now discarded, leaving him in a matching blue pants and shirt. Kushina wore a green dress with a white shirt inside, and it was oddly motherly for someone who wasn't yet a mother. "We wouldn't want to scare off Naru-chan so quickly, now would we?" He winked at her.

Naruto visibly bristled. "It's nice to meet you, Kushina-chan. Thank you for inviting me."

Kushina squealed loudly, placing her hand on Naru's shoulders. "You're so cute! You and I are going to be best friends." 

Ah. Okay then. 

"Believe me, Naruto," Drawled a voice from behind her that had her posture slackening. "If she says it, it'll happen."

"Kakashi-kun," Hating the way her voice conveyed her surprise at his presence, she sent him a smirk that she hoped raised his hackles the way it had gotten on Sasuke's nerves at every turn. "Fancy seeing you here." She hadn’t even noticed his chakra presence when tracking down her mother. 

Before Kakashi could reply, Kushina intercepted, "Isn't she just the cutest, Kakashi?" Obviously unaware of the slight bit of rivalry brewing between the two. 

"Just downright adorable," The silver haired jonin deadpanned as he adjusted his mask over his nose. Minato let out a cough, and both children sent him blazing glares. 

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Her father placated them with a sheepish smile. "This is a team dinner, afterall. Only team bonding should be happening while we're here."

"Obito's not here," was both Kakashi and Naruto's reply (which had them glaring at each other). Minato winced. 

"Kami, I can't have my cute students ganging up on me on the first day of our new recruits arrival. What kind of pushover do you think I am?" Naru sent him a unimpressed look because, if the rumors were true, her father was a pushover, especially when it came to her mother. 

Kushina laughed, her eyes sparkling. "You're such a baby, Minato," She teased with clear fondness in her voice. Minato was indiginant. 

Naruto stared on at her parents as Kushina lightly pushed at his shoulder in a playful manner and wonders if this is something that would be a regular occurence in their house had they been alive and had raised her. Would she have had a sibling? The more she looked at them she could see their physical traits in her. Minato's hair and eyes, and her mother's smile and nose, and temper. They were both staring at her now, confusion flitting across their faces. 

Kushina said something, and that's when she realized - her name.

"What?" She jerked out of her trance, eyes flickering back between them. 

"I said that we're going to wait for Rin to arrive before we eat." Kushina clarified. 

Minato came to stand besides her, placing one arm on Naruto's shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked her, his eyes searching hers. She wondered if he had noticed that they were practically the same. 

"I'm fine!" Naruto said a bit too hastily and she jerked back a little too fast from his grip because then she was stumbling. Kakashi grabbed her arm and steadied her, and Minato's worried look became more profound. "So, Kushina-chan! What's for dinner?" If the abrupt topic change had been noticed, no one said anything. 

"Please, Naruto! Call me Kushina! There's no need for formality when we're at home." 

They all herded into the kitchen and took their seats at the six-chaired table. If that wasn't perfect placement, Naruto didn't know what was. Minato took his seat at the head of the table, and Naruto and Kakashi slid into the seats on his left. Kushina began bringing in pots and dishes.

"Oh!" Naruto quickly stood, years of etiquette with Iruka taking its course. "Do you want any help?" Kushina's eyes lit up gleefully.

"You're so sweet," She cooed, and Naruto wondered how anyone thought her to be scary when she was like cotton candy and rainbows and bunnies with fluffy tails all wrapped into one. "I have two platters on the kitchen counter. If you would be a dear and bring them out?"

As Naruto made her way into the kitchen, she heard the whisper-yell that was sent Kakashi’s way. 

"Listen right now, Kakashi-kun! You better treat Naru-chan right!" Kushina threatened much to Naruto’s amusement. She could hear her teammate spluttering in offense.

"Kushina.." Minato reprimanded, but there was clearly a laugh in his voice. "Kakashi and Naruto have only known each other a few days now. It’ll take some warming up before they’re friends." 

Naruto grabbed the platter that had whole fish in it, decorated by tomatoes and herbs and slices of pickled radish. It looked delicious.

Naru almost thought that Kakashi had managed to get his way out of this one until he scoffed at Minato’s words and muttered something too quiet for her to hear from her position in the kitchen. There was a loud slam that followed making her cringe. 

" _What was that?"_ Asked her mother, voice dangerously low. There was a break in the conversation which Naruto took as her cue to make her reappearance.

Well, that was until she walked in and saw what was happening.

Kushina was leaning over Kakashi, her red hair levitating like it didn’t exist on the plane of gravity. Minato had his arm around her waist and was trying to calm her down which clearly wasn’t working. 

"Here’s the fish!" Naru said cheerfully, breaking the heavy tension in the dining room. Both boys let out sighs of relief, and Kushina straightened up, her hair still and her mouth in a smile. 

Huh. Maybe she was wrong. Her mom _could_ be scary. 

"Thank you, Naruto. You can put it next to the pot of ramen", Minato gestured to the empty spot with his head. 

"RAMEN?" Naru squealed. "Ramen’s my favorite food, Kushina-chan, dattebayo!" 

Kushina squealed back in equal enthusiasm. "MINE TOO, DATTEBANE!" 

"Oh my Kami, there’s two of them." Kakashi stated almost in horror as he stared back and forth between the two women. "We might not make it out of here alive."

"Yeah, and that’s before they get started on sealing." Minato agreed, wariness settling over his features. "Maybe team bonding at home isn’t the way to go."

"Maybe team bonding in general isn’t the way to go," Kakashi suggested.

The knocker from the front sounded and Kushina’s eyes lit up again. "That must be Rin-chan! I’ll go get the door." 

While Kushina floated away like a fire cracker ghost, Naruto retrieved the final dish from the kitchen and settled back into her seat besides Kakashi, who was now drinking water. 

"Stupid henge," Naruto couldn’t help but grumble. In all her time of knowing the future Kakashi, he had always had a henge on too when he ate around his team. It was why they had tasked Sukea with getting pictures of him. 

Which reminded her... Sukea had those purple marks on his face that Rin did. She wondered if they were from the same clan or something. Considering Rin’s age now and Sukea’s age then, they’d be close in years which meant that Sukea must be alive now. 

Rin had barely slid into her seat across from Kakashi before Naru was on her. "Hello, Rin-chan. I have a question." Rin seemed startled by her bold demeanor.

"Ah, hello, Naru-chan. What's up?"

"Do you happen to have someone in your family or your clan named Sukea?"

Kakashi spewed the water he was drinking at a remarkable distance. 

They gave him a weird look but ignored the way he was hacking and coughing. He could figure it out.

"No? I don't know anyone named Sukea. But that is the name you said when we found you in the crater. Do I look like this Sukea"' Rin looked interested. Minato and Kushina as well. Kakashi looked like a flopping fish. 

"Sukea had brown hair, although it was a bit dustier than yours. And he has these purple markings on his face that remind me of yours." Kakashi looked like he would be be needing CPR soon. Naru shot him an irritated look. "Are you okay, or will we need to resuscitate your heart in two minutes?" 

Kakashi waved a hand at her, signalling he was fine. Minato sat up in his chair, arms locked underneath his chin. "Is Sukea your friend? Or someone who fought you or something?"

She could feel the Hatake boy's lock on her head. "Sukea was an accquaintance," She worded carefully, "that I made on the road when travelling. He helped me get out of a few sticky situations." Minato looked disappointed at her vague wording but didn't press on it. 

"Oh," Rin said. "Well I don't know of a Sukea. If there's other members in our clan, they don't live in Konoha. It's possible that he could be from the western branch of our clan." Kakashi had visibly relaxed in his seat, and was dabbing at the front of the table to wipe the water off of it. 

'"You look relaxed, Kakashi-kun." Naru observed with snake slitted eyes. "Do you know Sukea?" All the eyes at the table bounced to the silver haired jonin who was eyeing her. 

"It's possible... that I've met this person. How did you two meet? In a step by step answer?" He fished almost meekly. 

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed and she didn't respond. Now that she thought about it... once their attempt to see Kakashi's face had failed, he had dispelled like a clone. Which meant that the real Kakashi hadn't been there. 

She was up in a flash which prompted Kakashi to stand as well. She yanked the boy down to her, fist clenching his shirt until it crumpled. She barely heard Minato and Rin over her own shame. How had she not noticed? "Just wait until we're adults, Kakashi-kun. I'm going to punch your head through the ground and then play soccer with it."

Kakashi's wide gray eyes bore into her own but he didn't say anything. She shook him a little for good measure and then let go, the front of his blue top wrinkled. She sat back down and folded her hands neatly over her lap. "The food looks really good, Kushina-chan!" She said cheerily, reaching for a pair of chopsticks. 

Three shocked faces stared at her in disbelief but Kushina laughed loudly. "You're adorable!" 

Naruto smiled back in response and began piling a healthy serving of ramen into a bowl. Everyone shook themselves out of their stupor, and Kakashi handed her a glass timidly, but she just mock glared at him, which he seemed to understand. Minato plucked part of the fish out of the plate and then passed it to Rin. Kushina passed eggplant miso soup to Kakashi.

"Now I-," Kushina paused and grabbed Minato's hand, sharing a smile with him, "- _We_ would like you to come live with us. And, I would love for you to be inducted into the Uzumaki clan. I know that you said that you'd prefer to live by yourself but, it's just not right for someone so young to be on their own, dattebane."

And as much as it would help her out, Naruto couldn't bring herself to say she _wasn't_ an Uzumaki. It would seem such a disloyal thing to speak. The Uzumaki name had granted her fair feats in her own time, whether it be through impression and fear or respect and service. People - so many of the Shinobi in Konoha had come to her aid simply because of who her parents had been. It hurt her to not be able to claim the name outright and say that she was a descendant from the shores of the Land of Whirlpools, even if she hadn't been raised there. Even something as simple as a birthright - knowing who her parents had been had taken an infinite amount of time to reach her through the mouths and ears of many. Hell, no one alive had even told her. Her own father's chakra presence in her mindscape had come to tell her. 

But as far as her mission went, she could not claim herself an Uzumaki. Not yet, at least.

Naruto bowed her head respectfully to the red headed woman besides her. "I wouldn't normally mind, Kushina-nee but as of right now, I have a lot of things to do before I can settle down. If you bring me this offer in a few years, I might be more open to it."

"But, why?" Minato asked. "You've only just arrived in the village. You've saved one of our own. There is no reason for us to not give you a home." 

The blonde shook her head. "Do not offer me a home because you feel you need to repay a debt. Saving lives is not something to be repaid for."

Minato gave her a penetrating look, like he was irritated that she was playing her cards the way she was. "Obito's retrieval by your hand has nothing to do with it, although it has made me more confident in who you are. I offered you a place to stay before we even left for Kannabi Bridge." He sighed. "You're going to be on my team, Naruto. As your jonin-sensei, I can watch over you, yes. But with the incredible range of your physical attacks and jutsus, it won't be much longer until you are promoted, field or otherwise. Are you really ready to do all that by yourself?"

"Kakashi is. He will. Kakashi surpasses the basic jonin and Anbu with mere intelligence levels, not even counting his ninjutsu and taijutsu abilities. I do not understand why the same could not be said of me," Naruto points out, ignoring the way her former sensei winces. 

"I'd like to keep an eye out on you," Minato finally gives in, almost sheepishly. "I-well, your rising tension with Danzo has me feeling a bit uneasy."

Kushina screeches, banging her fist on the table. The plates and pots rattle and Rin holds her glass steady before the liquid in it sloshes out. "That display at the Council meeting was beautiful, Naruto-chan! You put that old crane right in his place!"

"Don't encourage her," Kakashi mutters darkly. He's absently swirling his spoon in his soup, having eaten most of it without removing the henge.

"Kushina," Her father scolds. "Danzo is tempermental and I know what type of man he is -"

"I'm almost one hundred percent sure you don't," Naru says under her breath.

"- and, well, as powerful as you are Naru-chan-"

"Which is not very powerful at all," Kakashi snarks, and then lets out a grunt when Naruto elbows him in his side sharply.

"- you're more than likely to end up being shoved off the Hokage monument if someone's not watching your back."

"Which Hokage?" Naruto can't help but question, an amused smirk playing on the edge of her lips. She looks like the devilish fox people have hated her for carrying and Rin lets out a giggled muffled by her fist. 

"Definitely the Shodai Hokage," Rin pipes up, pointing her chopsticks at Naruto. "Sandaime-sama is Danzo's friend - there's no way he'd disrespect him like that by letting blood splatter down his face."

Naruto is slightly affronted. " _Excuse me,_ I think it'd be an honor to have me die on your face. My blood is holy for all that it is."

Kakashi snorts and spears a piece of eggplant with the dull edge of his spoon. "You made a good point there, Rin-chan." He's serious all of a sudden before he's leaning forward, "Ten ryo that he'd push her off the Nidaime. You know that neither of them have a particular attachment towards the Uchiha, they'd be peas in a pod."

Naru's nose wrinkled, "What does their common dislike over the Uchiha have to do with me?"

"The Shodai's one of the founders though," Rin argues. "Can you imagine the stain that it would paint on Konoha both literally and figuratively? And if he played it off as a suicide - well, it'd be game over."

"Wrong!" Naru cries. "Both of you, honestly. Where is your sense of evil? Obviously he'd push me off Sandaime-sama." She throws her hands wildly, ignoring the way Minato is pinching the bridge of his nose like he's feeling a major migraine coming on. "If you were an evil political figure, wouldn't you kill someone on the current leader? That's one hell of a powerplay if I've ever heard of one. And dab smack in the middle of a war too! Lack of honor, lack of respect - an uprising! He'd be forced to pass the Hat! And no one's ready for the Hat!"

"I'm feeling worried that you're able to dicuss your death in such a casual matter, Naruto-chan," Minato holds a sole finger up, and then puts it down when no one pays him any attention.

"Minato-sensei is," Kakashi argues, devoted as always.

Naru waves him off recklessly. "Minato-sensei is ready for the hat, yes, but he's just getting his husbandly matters in order. What if he and Kushina-nee want some kids?"

Minato chokes. "Guys, I'm right here. And I'm not even married yet."

"Kids!" Kakashi scoffs, ignoring the disgruntled expression his teacher was wearing. "He can multitask! And why would he want a little demon running around? That's just - ugh! Sensei knows better!" He says as though the thought of it pains him.

"I didn't agree to this," Minato says almost desperately to Kushina, who, doesn't look as nearly as bothered as her significant other does. 

"If he can handle a Hatake clan brat like you, he can handle his own kid. Have a little faith."

Kakashi snorts, rolling his eyes at her and shoving a bite of eggplant into his mouth. "I'm a Hatake clan brat but you're _just_ a brat," He taunted around his mouthful. Naruto wondered not for the first time that night if she were to cause bodily harm to her new teammate, if she would really get punished for it. 

"Okay but, Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee's kid would be so cute," Rin says thoughtfully, ever the peacemaker. Between herself, Kakashi, and Obito, Rin was going to have a full job on her hands. Her brown eyes shine with the illustration she was surely painting in her head. Naruto wonders if she should preen because yes, _she is in fact_ downright gorgeous. "Do you guys think it'd be a blonde or a redhead?"

"Blonde," Her and Kakashi answer together - the former's out of being said kid and the latter's due to unwavering loyalty.

"No way!" Kushina says. "Uzumaki genes always win out, dattebane."

"Uzumaki genes win in the chakra and jutsu department. Namikaze phenotype will win out on the hair, though. We can place a bet on this," Naruto dares, eyes scanning up all of the people sitting at the table with her. "We can wager something."

Minato looks like he's on the verge of passing out. 

"Deal!" Kushina says, placing her hand into the center of the table. "What are the stakes?"

The blonde Uzumaki smiles devilishly, her eyes taking on what Kakashi thinks is a dangerous gleam. "Why don't we leave it... open ended?"

"Open ended?" Minato echoes, his interest piqued.

"Open ended," She repeats. "We can call in that wager or bet as long as it's not too outlandish when time comes."

"Outlandish in civilian terms or in nin terms?"

"Ninja, obviously."

"Done," Kakashi, Kushina, and Rin say together. 

Minato hesitates before he's nodding mutely. 

And maybe it is cheating because as said child of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, she supposes she's privy to things like her own hair color. But no one has to know that.

"Okay, people!" Naru cheers. "Call it in! I say blonde."

"Red head," Rin says.

"Red hair!" Kushina fist pumps.

"Blonde." Minato says.

They all turn to look at Kakashi, who isn't staking his blonde claim like he had done so boldly at the beginning. "Red," He says finally, the little bit of cheek visible turning pink. Clearly logic had won over this one.

Naruto guffaws as Kakashi avoids his Sensei's gaze who looks positively offended. "Oh how the tables turn, Kakashi-kun," He says dramatically sounding wounded.

Kakashi's ears turn red and Rin can't help but hold in her snort. "Sorry, sensei," He says feigning nonchalance. "I don't run with the losers."

Kushina crows and holds her hand out for a high five, which Kakashi gladly gives her, and fist bumps Rin. The three that voted for red look extremely pleased with themselves, and Naruto and Minato exchange glances. 

' _If only they knew,'_ Naru can't help but think with an evil smirk.

"We gotta get Obito in on this bet," Rin says. "Make it a team gamble." 

"Yes! Obito-kun will be loyal," Kushina says. "And those blondies over there will end up in last place, dattebane!"

"You wish, dattebayo!" Naru challenges, meeting her mother's stare head on. "Blondes don't lose." 

Kakashi's eyes crinkle. "You'll be eating those words when the first kid pops." 

"You'll be eating your words when I beat you in a spar at our next practice," She fires back, only for him to snort. 

And internally, Naruto sighs in relief. She had gotten them off the topic of the Uzumaki induction. _Thankfully._

"Jokes aside, Naruto-chan," Minato says. "Having you under the Uzumaki name and the Namikaze household would do you a lot of good.

 _Or not._

Naruto clasps her hands together and looks at both of her parents, who both seem hopeful and expectant at the same time. "I really appreciate the offer, but I'm going to have to decline once again. Look I-" Naru sighs, "- It's a bit personal for me. And I hope you understand when I say I'm not ready to delve into the full details but, I've been living on my own for a long time. Learning on my own and fighting on my own. This -" She gestures to the table, "-It's all relatively new to me. Having a team and people around me other than my sensei is new to me. And despite how much I know it's good to have a team, it's also good for me to be alone. I am glad to have a place to call home but for now, I need to ease into it. It'd almost feel like drowning, too fast too soon, you know?"

And she can tell from the looks on their faces that _they don't know_. 

Maybe Kakashi does. But seeing the troubled looks on Rin and her parents -- they don't know. 

But they let it slide, reluctantly, Naru can tell.

"Okay, Naru-chan," Kushina says softly. "But if you need anything or if you ever change your mind, you'll come to us?"

"You have my word," The blonde girl agrees. 

Minato and Kushina both visibly relax then, their bodies losing their stiff postures.

And after that, it's all... comforting.

Natural chatter filtered over them under the glowing light of the lantern.

Naruto felt warm. 

And it wasn't because of the ramen. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my dear readers! I’m back again with another chapter as you can see and to be honest I thoroughly enjoyed writing this one. Something about team banter always makes me happy so being able to project that on Naruto, Kakashi, Rin, Minato, and Kushina (sorry Obito) was a lot of fun. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> By the way I am getting so antsy about my other character like I just want to introduce him already.   
> But anyways. Happy reading and stay safe! :)


	7. Three Vampires

Obito was starting physical therapy soon, but Rin had informed the Team that he was supposed to be released within the month, which was better Naruto supposed. Learning the team dynamics for future missions would play an important part in successfully completing their goals and moving together as a unit, so Naruto planned to get herself familiar with all of her team member's fighting styles, specialities, and weaknesses. 

But regardless of the Uchiha boy's lack of presence, Minato had his three other students training day by day.

It was almost surreal for Naruto to even say that. Intergrating herself on a personal level with her team hadn't been a part of her original plan but the more she got to know them, the more attached she became. And it went without saying that she longed to know her parents more, who they could've been if they hadn't died. If everything went according to plan, then Naruto wasn't even sure that the child her parents would conceive would even be her. If that even made sense. Time travel was confusing. 

Naruto sat by the base of the large tree overshadowing Training Ground 8, watching Rin and Kakashi spar. Kakashi in his youth had a different fighting style from when he was an adult. Of course, his fighting style as an adult was hardened and evolved from years of practice and battle. If there was any word for it, his style now was reckless. He relied more on his affinity rather than the jutsus he had copied, and no matter what he did, his body crackled with the electricity sparking from his lightning. His Sharingan eye was out and spinning, furiously taking in everything he was seeing in their spar. His taijutsu was already well developed for his age, and his kicks were powerful as he lashed out with a series of jumps and whirls through the air.

The Kakashi that Naruto knew had already had his own strategies and moves. Watching - actually watching him learn what worked best for him and his chakra affinity was enlightening, especially when she already knew what the end result would be.

One of Konoha's finest Shinobi.

Maybe if Kakashi was nice, she'd drop in a few pointers that she'd caught from him when he was teaching her. Of course, Kakashi was stubborn enough that he actually might not heed her advice, but the chances were that he wanted to improve, and would try out various moves to reach his goal.

She couldn't help but smile when he formed a clone. One of the reasons she hadn't resorted to using shadow clones like she usually did was that the Kage Bunshin was a technique strictly developed under Konoha. Naruto knowing that jutsu would only raise suspicion, so she'd had to alternate with wind clones, and although it could be taxing for her to create clones so meticulously, it helped with her chakra control. 

Naruto turned her attention to Rin. Naruto could see Sakura in Rin, a bit. Of course, Rin was a bit more level headed and nicer (not that she'd ever tell Sakura that - she wasn't looking for a clock to the head) but the way she had already decided on becoming a medic reminded her of the sureity she had seen her cherry-blossom haired teammate when she had started training under Tsunade. 

It was hard to tell what Rin's chakra affinity was, although if she knew that if she activated Sage Mode, she'd be able to tell without a doubt. Rin used a mixture of water and fire jutsus, and was also heavily reliant on senbon, kunai, and shuriken. She was also a lot more reserved with her chakra stores, which made sense if she was a medic. Medics had to save their own chakra for actually healing, which was one of the first things that Tsunade had taught Sakura. 

If Rin was the medic and Kakashi was a heavy hitter, she wondered where that left Obito. She herself was a heavy hitter, though she could apparently heal a little if she channeled Kyuubi chakra. 

Sighing as Kakashi pushed Rin down and held a kunai to her neck, Naruto turned back to her scrolls. Minato had shown her the Flying Thunder God kunai, and Naruto wondered if she could make her own version of it. Instead of sealing it into a weapon though, she wondered if she could make it more portable, like on one's skin. She wasn't sure if her team would be up to placing such a seal on themselves, but Naruto would be willing to do it to herself. Of course there would be trial and errors before it actually worked out and presented it to the team. Maybe Kushina could help her work the kinks out, as she had taught Minato a good portion of his fuinjutsu. 

Naru dipped her paintbrush into the ink pot and began scrawling over her sealing paper, strokes graceful - something Sai would've been proud of. 

"That's not one of the ones I've seen you do before," Minato observed from where he was perched in the tree branch above her. She hummed back. 

"It's not," Naruto agreed not bothering to break herself away from her task. "I'm playing around with an idea I had after you showed me your Flying Thunder God kunai."

"Oh?" He sounded interested now. He was leaning over his perch now, his blonde hair dangling in his face. 

"The teleportation seal is pretty useful if you can utilize it properly," Naruto said. "And while your pronged kunai is more battle crafty, I prefer my seals... more hands on." 

If she had looked up she would've seen his quirked eyebrow. "By hands on, you mean on skin."

Naruto laughed at his dry tone. What did it say about her that he could read her so well? "It's certainly more convenient. You can lose a kunai. You can't lose a seal that's branded on your skin."

"Fair point," Her father conceded and flashed down beside her before carefully taking the brush from her hands."Although I'm curious as to how you'll be able to transport. My kunai work because there are always multiple. To transport somewhere, my kunai must be at that designated spot first. How would you alter your seal so that you wouldn't need a two way door?"

Naru shrugged. She hadn't gotten that far ahead yet. And she said as much. 

"Your seal is complicated and articulate, which puts more definition into it when you actually decide to use it. But when you're activating it, your intentions have to be clear through your chakra or else things can go really wrong really fast." He made a face, and his forehead wrinkled. 

The blonde girl let out another chuckle before she poked his sleeved shoulder. "There's definitely a story there."

"One that you won't be hearing ever. Kami knows you'd never let me live it down."

And she should've laughed but all she did was smile because here she was forming bonds and teasing her dad good naturally like daughters did. Her smile was a bit sad, and there was nothing she could do about it. But it was okay. "Maybe I'll just ask Kushina-chan," Naruto said, a wicked glint overtaking her face. "I'm sure she won't hesitate to start up some chit-chat when we're enjoying a healthy round of ramen together. Wouldn't you agree, Sensei?"

Minato groaned and sent her a side glance. "This is blackmail," He complained. Naruto let out a loud laugh, collapsing in a fit of giggles at his exasperated expression. "Remind me again why you aren't hauling ass like Kakashi and Rin?"

Naruto shrugged. "Today's observation day. I have to see Rin and Kakashi fight so that I can incorporate their moveset into my surroundings when I'm fighting besides them. Wouldn't want to accidentally catch Kakashi with a shuriken or something."

Minato shot her an amused look. "Somehow I don't think you would feel too sorry about it." They watched Kakashi lunge into a bold side kick, while Rin dodged and swiped her kunai at him. 

Naruto scoffed and flicked her hair behind her crop jacket. "Give me more credit than that, Sensei. I'm not completely heartless." She plucked her scroll and paintbrush back from him and continued working, while occasionally peeking back up at her teammates. "And besides, even if it were to happen, Kakashi is very... cocky. He needs to be taken down a few notches every once in a while." 

"Kakashi's had a hard childhood," Minato said. "It's not really my story to tell, although I doubt he'd ever really get around to telling it himself. He's not very open and he throws himself into training," Minato gazed at his prodigal student thoughtfully. "When Obito nearly died though, that was different. He understands now, that rules aren't everything." Naruto didn't reply to that. She had already known that.

Sensing that Naruto wasn't going to continue that conversation, Minato backtracked. "If you want to learn how to become more aware of your teammates during a fight, shouldn't you be engaging so that you can feel them out?"

Naruto shook her head. "No. It's one thing to see how they move, and observe the little details like," She nodded in Rin's direction as she was throwing multiple kunai at once, "Rin's arm flares out when she throws multple kunai. Learning how to balance their power types and skillsets come later. Being able to feel them out and participating in that dance comes later."

Minato stared at her with a surprised but pleased smile. "You may not have grown up in Uzushio with a full team, but you know the importance of teamwork. That speaks enough in itself for the man that supported you while you were on the road."

Naruto hesitated and settled her brush besides her scroll, watching some of midnight ink drip off the brush and into the grass. "Someone wise once told me that those who break the rule are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash." Minato grinned widely.

"Have you been talking to Obito-kun? Because that sounds like something he would say."

"Not Obito persay," She said slowly although she now knew that her former sensei had learned it from him. "This man was more of a teacher than anything, and he had personal experience with losing a team. It made it hard for him to get close to people, but he always told me that."

And it was true. Kakashi had never said anything outright, but once you knew his backstory, it became easy to identify why he had such little personal relationships. Kakashi had lost so many people in his time - a mother he had never known, a father that had committed suicide, Obito who had sacrificed himself, Rin who had died by his own hand even if it hadn't been intentional, and Minato and Kushina who had left him behind. It was no surprise that he would avoid creating bonds, as he of all people knew how easy it was to lose someone in the blink of an eye. Even Gai - Kakashi had kept Gai at arms length despite their years of friendship. 

"Ah," Minato said softly. "Sounds like a fine Shinobi to me." 

"He has a long way to go before he's in tip top shape, trust me," Naruto snorted, eyes fixated on Kakashi's blazing white form. 

Minato followed her gaze and let out a soft hum. "Interesting."

Rin let her arm fly into a punch as Kakash swerved into her space and Naruto got to her feet. "KICK HIS ASS, RIN-CHAN!" She hollered. Rin didn't reply but Naruto saw the hint of a smile on the girl's face. The cheer pushed Rin, because then she was pulling out three shuriken in each hand and flicking them in his direction. Kakashi dodged all but one, which scraped his torso.

The two teammates continued to spar for a bit, until Minato called them back.

As they settled back in together, Naruto handed them both waters from her seal. They drank greedily, the shining sun and taxing exercise having swamped them of their energy.

Minato beamed proudly in a way only a teacher could. "Good job, Kakashi, Rin. The next time we meet will be a training day. I'll be working one on one with Kakashi so Rin and Naruto, you'll be sparring, okay? Then we'll alternate and I'll teach Naruto. The day after tomorrow should do. Sandiame-sama will probably have us go on another mission sometime soon, but Obito'll still be out of comission so it will just be us four. I think it's a good opportunity for us to incorporate Naruto into our ranks. When Obito is healed, we'll catch him up to speed and begin working on team formations. Sounds good?" When they all nodded their consent, he patted them on their heads. "I have to go meet Kushina but I'll see you three later. Stay out of trouble, okay?" Then he shun-shinned, leaving the three adolescents behind. 

Rin turned to Naruto. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

Naruto shrugged. "Well, I want to go visit Obito-kun and I'll probably work on my fuinjutsu some more. I have a seal in progress that I want to extend to the team if I get it right. And I also want to go talk to Shisui Uchiha if I can find him."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Oh, Kami. Don't tell me you're another one of those crazy fangirls who have the hots for the Uchiha clan."

Naruto flushed. "AS IF, KAKASHI-KUN!" She yelled, her arms flailing. "I DON'T EVEN KNOW SHISUI TO BE LIKING HIM!" 

"Then why do you need to go find him?" The young boy demanded. "How do you even know him?"

"He's a well known Shinboi around Konoha," She said in a _duh_ tone that had Kakashi himself turning red. "Plus, I bet he's more tolerable to be around than _some_ of the egotistical, stuck up Shinboi male around here!"

Rin snickered. "Oooh, the shade."

"That wasn't even shade!" Kakashi argued, his gray eyes narrowing at his female teammates. "That was the whole window! And _I know_ you didn't just call me egotistical and stuck up!"

"I didn't even say your name!" Naruto defended although it was on deaf ears. "And besides, even if I did! Are you gonna go cry about it, _Kakashi-kun?"_ Naru emphasized the honorific.

Rin giggled and Kakashi huffed and folded his arms. "You're insufferable."

"And you're unbearable so I think that makes us even."

Naruto flicked her middle finger at him and then channeled her chakra and levitated into the air, leaving a gasping Rin and a gaping Kakashi behind her. He was just too easy to make fun of. 

\--><\--

Naruto had to stop home for the goggles she had been safekeeping for Obito. She hadn't gone to visit him in the hospital since the day she had actually dropped him in there, so she was overdue anyways. She would've brought food but she didn't actually know how much he was supposed to be eating, which made her feel guilty.

She should've checked up on him sooner. She brought her scrolls so that she could work on them while she kept him company. Goggles and brushes weren't typical cargo for a weapons pouch but Naruto stuffed them in anyways.

When she got to the hospital, she didn't bother checking in with the front desk - too much waiting paired with too many limitations weren't Naru's strong suit. She just hopped up into the window that led into his hospital room, startling the Uchiha with her uncalled for presence.

"Obito," She greeted smoothly, plopping her bag onto the floor and sliding into the empty seat that was waiting by the left side of his bed. The boy was pale, paler than any Uchiha had any right to be and his eyes were dark. His hair was as spiky and disorderly as ever, but his cheerful demeanor remained the same. 

"Naruto-chan!" He yelped pulling the covers over his chest like he was naked.

Naru rolled her eyes. "Are you hiding something that I can't see?"

"Well I-I, I mean - it's not like," He stumbled over his words like a fawn would on new legs.

Naru waved him off. "It's fine, I'm just teasing. How are you feeling?"

Obito picked at the bandages over his eye and with the way things looked, he had been doing it steadily. "I'm doing a lot better. The nurses say that I'll make a full recovery but I'll have to practice walking again because my bones have been shattered." He grinned in embarrassment. "It's weird only having one eye."

Naruto snorted. "Don't let Kakashi hear you say that. He already said he would give you back your eye if you wanted it." She made a face. "That sounds highly unsanitary, by the way. And that reminds me." Naru reached into her weapons pouch and pulled out his headgear, passing it to the boy. "I found it when I..." She trailed off. 

"When you saved my life?" Obito asked in a gentle tone that surprised her. She hadn't been aware that Obito was capable of talking lower than an outside voice. He laid a palm over hers and gripped her fingers tightly. "Thank you. So much." Obito said, his voice seemed stuffed like he was on the verge of crying. "I didn't get a chance to tell you back when you were bringing us home, but you're a godsend, Naru-chan. I'd be dead without you." Naru felt her own tears begin to draw up and couldn't help but grimace. Because the truth was that he would be alive without her. Madara would've seen to it. “And I know that you're new around here and you barely even know me but you looked for me when I was left behind.” 

Obito let out a horrible laugh that was overshadowed by the clear tears springing to his own dark eyes. "It's funny, you know," But Naru didn't think it sounded funny at all. "I had just lectured Bakashi for leaving a comrade behind, and then my own guardian angel came and saved me." He looked at her seriously. "Those who break the rules are trash but-,"

"-Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash," She couldn't help but finish. The phrase was so ingrained into her brain that it came automatically. Obito stared at her in surprise, his own tears now streaming down his cheek. Naru ignored that hers were doing the same. 

"How did you know that?" He whispered.

"Heard it around," Naru said nonchalantly even if it didn't match the way her tears kept falling like raindrops. 

"You fucking liar," Obito choked out.

Naru let out a watery bark at his lack of care for his profanity. "Don't get sentimental on me, Obito. I don't do hugs and tears." 

"My bad,' He said. "I just didn't know that your eyes could sweat."

She laughed and lifted her free hand to wipe at her tears, but squeezed Obito's hand tighter. "If you ever do that again I'm going to kill you myself. And I'll get Kushina-nee to help me. Got it?” The former jinchuuriki threatened. 

Obito shook his head and lifted his sleeve to wipe the rest of his tears from his face. “You and Kushina-nee would be a dangerous duo. I can't believe I was out for a few days and you've already met sensei's girlfriend.”

“Don't worry, Obito-kun. There will be time. After all, I'm sure I'll be seeing you a lot more now that we're on the same team." Naru grinned as his eyes widened almost comically. 

"YOU'RE ON OUR TEAM? OH, I BET KAKASHI WAS PISSED!" Obito cheered, clearly taken with the idea that there was another person to annoy the silver haired boy. 

"I mean, at the Council meeting he did stake a preliminary claim and then vouched for me. It was surprising." She admitted. "I didn't think he liked me. But he said he did it so that the Council knew I had the backing of a clan."

"Oh, he doesn't like you,” Obito assured her. "In fact the only person who probably annoys him more than you is me. But, Rin-chan tells me how you two bicker. And I can't help but think, maybe."

When he didn't continue, Naru frowned at him. "Maybe? Maybe what?"

Obito guffawed. "You'll see, Naru-chan. You'll see."

Naruto had no idea what he was going on about. "All this time in the hospital is making you lose a few screws, Obito-kun," She pulled her scrolls out of her bag and placed them on the bed. "Maybe you should get them to check your head while you're already here." She shuffled through the abundance of papers in her lap before she found the right one. "There's something I want your opinion on."

"Me?" Obito was shocked. Normally people didn't come to him for advice.

"Yes, you. You know Minato-sensei's Flying Thunder God kunai?" At his confirmation, she continued. "I specialize in fuinjutsu. I want to copy the idea of the teleportation jutsu."

He frowned. "You want to make your own Flying Thunder God kunai?" He asked, confused. 

"Sort of. Instead of sealing the ability into a weapon like Sensei did, I want to place the seal on my body."

"Okaay," Obito drew out. "That's a great idea. But why do you need my help with it?"

Naru rolled her eyes again. "Well, the seal isn't specific to me. I'd like the whole team to utilize it. I was wondering if you'd be open to the idea."

Obito hesitated. "What did Kakashi and Rin say?"

"I haven't told them. Minato-sensei knows about it, but I don't think he'll say anything until I complete it and it works without any hitches."

"Oh." He began fiddling with the goggle straps. "I think if you could manage to seal it on me without you know, blowing me up or something, I wouldn't mind. And it'd be convenient, too. If we'd had this when were facing those Iwa nin, then Rin-chan would've been able to tell us where she was faster, and we could've reached her easier." He sat up suddenly, and winced, but ignored the clear pain. "You should talk to Kushina-nee about this. She taught Minato-sensei almost everything he knows about fuinjutsu. If there's anyone who could help you with your sealing it's her."

"Hmmm," Naru said. "Maybe a bit later. I have plans to meet with a member of your clan today.You know Shisui Uchiha, right?" 

Obito groaned. "Don't tell me you're going to try to butter up to Shisui like all those other girls, Naru-chan. I thought you were better than that."

Naruto leapt to her feet, affronted. "Shisui is like way a way older than me! I don't even know him! And you know, Kakashi said the same thing. You guys are the worst." 

"Shisui is a year, maybe two older than you. In the grand scheme of things, that isn't even a lot. And you don't have to know him. His reputation precedes him. Also, Kakashi had good reason for accusing you of liking him. Whenever someone brings it up, you blush."

Naruto sputtered. "I only blush because of the insinuations you guys make! Are you telling me you wouldn't do the same if someone accused you of liking.. I don't know... Rin-chan?"

Okay, she'd admit it. That was technically cheating because Obito actually liked Rin. But she wasn't here to play fair. Naruto didn't like Shisui - didn't even know him. 

Obito's scarred skin flushed a bright red, and he glared at her. "I DON'T LIKE RIN!" He said furiously, lower lip dropping into a pout. 

"See?" Naruto nodded hoping her expression didn't betray how much she could tell he was bullshitting. "I don't having any sort of emotional need to get to know Shisui. He'd be a good person to talk to in terms of clan politics. I would talk to Itachi but he's actually really young and I don't want him getting caught up in corruption. I'll probably meet Itachi through Shisui anyways." 

"Corruption?" Obito shook his head in wariness. "Regardless of what you say, the Uchihas always manage to capture a young Shinobi's heart. Soon enough, all you'll ever dream of is long, dark hair, and red eyes." 

The blonde snorted. "Kami, you'd think your clan is a bunch of vampires." 

"Shisui hangs out with main branch's family. You'll probably find him training in the woods with Itachi or something. I don't really know."

Naruto beamed. "Thanks, Obito-kun. I won't go right away to see him. I'll just relax here and work on my scrolls for a bit." Naruto watched as Obito settled back under his sheets, his fingers plucking and playing with his goggles almost mindlessly.

\--><\--

Shisui Uchiha was indeed where Obito had placed him - in the woods with a tanto strapped to his lean back, and multiple kunai layered in his palms, Besides him was Itachi, and the two were engaged with throwing kunai at targets. 

Itachi was the first to spot her. 

"Naruto-san," Itachi greeted formally. Being next in line for clan head had clearly instilled good manners into the young ninja. "What are you doing here?" 

"Hello, Itachi-san," Naruto said with a smile. When Itachi was so young and cute and not yet trying to capture her in his genjutsu, it made her want to squish his cheeks. "I'm here to talk to you and Uchiha-san," She glanced to the taller boy who was eyeing her with curiosity. 

"Naruto-san," Shisui said sticking his hand out. "I've heard a lot about you. Call me Shisui." Shisui had the contrasting coloring of any other Uchiha Naruto had met in her time. Dark flyaway hairs and pale skin. His eyes had those aging lines that Itachi had, and she couldn't help but think that they were both too young to have anything of the sort. "How did you know where we were?"

"Obito-kun is my teammate." She said in explanation, taking his hand to shake. His palm had callouses, no doubt from the healthy amount of training Shisui did. 

"Obito, hmmm?" Shisui feigned forgetfulness. "Is that my loudmouth cousin you're talking about?" Naruto immediatly took a hardened step towards Shisui.

"Don't talk about Obito like that!" Naruto snapped. It also hit a little close to home because in her time, she was regarded as a loudmouth and good for nothing. 

Shisui seemed to realize that he was making a bad impression and backed up. "Whoa! Hey, Naruto-chan. I'm not insulting Obito. He's probably one of the only members in our clan that isn't stuck up and self righteous. I actually like Obito."

Naruto felt herself deflate. "Oh. Good. I would hate to have stick my foot up your ass for disrespecting him."

Shisui's head tilted analytically. "You're a bit hot-headed, aren't you Naruto-chan?"

Itachi sighed at his cousin, almost painfully. Like he was used to Shisui's lack of filter.

"And you're a bit uninhibited, aren't you Shisui-san?" Naruto fired back with just as much snark he had given her. Shisui barked out a laugh though, a tricky gleam in his eye like he hadn't been expecting her to retort in such a way. If she had to guess, Shisui was probably used to the village members and Shinobi sucking up to him for his Uchiha name and his well known status within the force. But she too, was surprised. Besides Obito, Naruto had yet to meet another Uchiha who liked social interaction and wasn't just flaunting their kekkei genkai. Shisui was defying the expectations, though. 

"Oh, I like you Naruto-chan," He said, his young face split with a grin. "You're not like those other hardass Shinobis."

Now, it was Naruto's turn to laugh. "Yeah some of them can be real hardasses," She said, thinking of Kakashi right off the bat. 

They stared at each other, and Itachi watched them back and forth. And then, Shisui was all in her space, hands pushing her until she felt into the dirt. Itachi let out a silent groan, and Naruto felt her cheeks heat as she radiated a wave of killing intent towards the older boy. 

"What the hell?" She demanded. Shisui was doubled over laughing, and Itachi was facepalming. Shisui was too busy laughing to answer, so Naruto grabbed his leg from where he was standing incautiously next to her. With a firm tug, Shisui was sprawled facedown in the dirt next to her.

He twitched next to her, and Naruto got to her knees and squarely punched him in the back. Totally deserved. 

Shisui's face lifted and Naruto grinned when she saw the mud caked in on his face. "Something wrong, Shisui-san?" She asked innocently.

Shisui growled before meeting her at knee point. She was unprepared for when his hand clutched around a glob of mud and was hurling it at her at breakneck speed. It hit her squarely in the chest, and Naru gasped as the cold and mushy wetness slid down her shirt, ruining her gear.

"Oh, now you're just asking for it," Naruto said. They were both on their feet in a split second, hand full with mud. Shisui already had his back turned to her and Naru didn't waste a moment to fling the chunky substance for his spine, and let out laugh when his shriek filled the surrounding area.

Itachi was... well he had taken cover in the treeline, a clear look of judgment on his face. 

"You're playing dangerously, Naruto!" Shisui shouted as he ran for cover within the trees, his body moving so quickly that Naruto barely managed to keep sight of him. Naruto sprung into her own tree, letting her sensor abilites track the Uchiha's chakra. When she caught it, she threw her hand foward, letting the mud fly at him. He dodged and flickered to the next tree and was springing his own attack at her. Naruto barely managed to dodge, making a leap back as the mud splattered where she had just been standing. They both flickered back to the ground for a moment to refill their stocks before Shisui was blocking her path, mud held up in a threatening manner. "Don't take one more step, Naru!" The honorifics were out the window as he backed her up.

Naru grinned ferally as her clone popped out of the ground and grabbed the Uchiha by his pant legs, dragging him down to the ground like an anchor to a ship. Shisui's legs dug holes through the ground until he was waist deep in the brown substance. She cursed when he body flickered out of her clone's hold and back into the treeline.

"COME BACK, YOU COWARD!" Naru bellowed at the forest surrounding her. A chuckle echoed, and her eyes narrowed. Then a sharp slap of wet knocked into her leg, and when she looked down, a trail of soil was running down her calves. Then another into her other kneecap.

"SURRENDER!" Shisui shouted, his voice amplifying in the empty space. 

Naruto flickered herself to behind the Uchiha who immediatly rounded on her. He readied the mud in his hand and Naru did the same. But instead of aiming for her body, he aimed at her feet. She looked down in confusion as the mud splattered at her feet. Shisui took his chance and pushed at her shoulders and she slipped, immediatly tumbling off the branch. He grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt, and she stared back at him eyes wide. She dangled, the only thing keeping her from falling was his firm hold on her. 

"Do you surrender, Naruto-san?" He asked cheekily, taking a wild sense of delight at the brown trail that was smeared under her eye. Naruto snorted.

Instead of pleaing for a pull back, she grabbed Shisui by his own shirt and pulled him down, breaking his balance. His eyes widened as they both fell, landing with a hard thud on the ground, straight into the mud they had been flinging.

"I never surrender," Naruto said, laying on her back and glancing at the boy besides her who was just as winded as she was. 

"You're crazy," Shisui said on heaving breaths. "And I also think we're going to be best friends."

Itachi landed in front of them, his arms crossed. "If you two are done with your mud bath, then."

Naru lifted her head and groaned. Being so serious and official sucked when you were trying to have fun. Her back crackled and popped as she moved into a sitting position, making sure to slam a little extra mud on Shisui's shirt sleeve as she did so. Their clothes were properly dirtied, and she grinned as he sent her a mock glare. 

"Clearly your ideas of a first impression are different than mine," Itachi said. And then he backed up in horror at the twin looks of mischief his cousin and the girl sent him. Without saying anything, they both curled their hands into the mud and flung it at the pristine Uchiha.

One shot slammed into his shoulder and the other his hip, and Itachi sent them both glares. "Absolutely barbaric, both of you."

They were both too busy cackling to register him, though, Naruto holding her stomach as she bowled over. Shisui was in no better condition - he would stop laughing only to look at his younger cousin for a split second before bursting back into laughter.

"Ah yes. This was fun, 'ttebayo, but this is not what I came here for," Naruto wiped a stray tear that had escaped her eye. She twisted to face the Uchiha boys, one who was frowning and the other who looked like the Cheshire cat. "I'm well aware of the uprising tension between your clan and the village. And I think it's time we have a serious talk."

Shisui and Itachi glanced at each other. "Maybe we should talk about this in private," Shisui suggested. "We can clean up at my house, and then talk? Sound good?" 

Naru nodded. "Lead the way," She gestured. 

\--><\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I’m back with a chapter and this one was a lot of fun for me to write because I got to incorporate my two favorite Uchihas!! Itachi and Shisui man, I love them both so I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to write them in. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys liked it. Happy reading and stay safe :)


	8. Interwoven

Naruto had suggested that they eat while they talked, which Shisui had readily agreed with. Itachi had started preparing tea on his own having already showered and dressed, content to let them have their own conversation. Naruto filled up a ramen cup with boiled water while Shisui toweled off his unusually curly hair, wet from the shower. Their clothes were in the wash, and Naruto was donning an Uchiha wide turtle neck that she had seen Sasuke wear many times, as well as a pair of borrowed shorts. It was odd to have the Uchiha fan on her back.

”So what’s all this talk about corruption and clan politics?” Shisui asked her.

"I want you to be an ambassador of sorts," Naruto said as she whirled and sank into the beige futon besides the boy. She wasn’t going to beat around the bush. "The Uchiha have been facing civil unrest within Konoha and we both know that the civilians are getting anxious."

"The Uchiha are Konoha's longest standing police force. They have no reason to distrust us." He seemed to be testing her because all three of them clearly knew that wasn't true.

Naruto slurped her noodles messily, and gave Itachi a small nod when he placed a steaming cup in front of her and Shisui."Doesn't matter. There are certain Council members that are... corrupt. They wouldn't want the Uchiha intervening with their power plays. Your clan’s dojutsu alone is enough to stir up controversy, and the Council isn’t afraid to use that fear to their advantage, even if you’ve done nothing wrong," She was clearly indicating Danzo, and Shisui seemed to know that if the way his eyebrows furrowed were any indication.

"Okay," He said carefully, setting his towel over the back of the futon. "Say that there was a politically unstable figure, like you think. What if that person had their own set of Anbu? What then?"

Naruto smiled. It was good that Shisui had already sussed out Root. It was one less thing to have to explain. "The Sandaime is throwing a blind eye to what's happening because of the bonds he's formed. If we're going to resolve the conflict before they make a move, we need to be smart about it. I can technically.. handle... the in- Council corruption by myself. It might be a little suspicious though, considering we had a pretty hostile first encounter."

Shisui raised his eyebrow, his eyes narrowed. "When you say handle it..?" He trailed off, clearly looked for an explanation.

"It means I'll handle it." She said simply. Plausible deniability could go a long way. She hadn't actually admitted to any heinous crimes, and towards who, anyways. If she was careful, no one would be able to trace Danzo's unfortunate... _accident_ back to her. "While I work on that front, I'll need you to keep the peace within the clan." 

"And why me?" He was curious. "You're on a team with another one of my clan members - Obito Uchiha. You know Itachi. Why me?"

Naru shook her head. "Obito is not as influential inside the clan as you are, because he's not part of the main branch. You have direct ties to the main family, and you and Itachi-kun are close, and he's a good ally to have as you both grow older. As of right now, Itachi is too young. He's intelligent and powerful, that's true, but he is still too young. He shouldn't have to make hard decisions at his age. You and I are... well we're not too much older but life isn't fair," She gave him a bitter smile.

Shinobi were trained from a young age. War had been the upbringing of many. When she thought about people like Kakashi and Yamato who had gotten field promotions before they had even hit puberty, it made her upset. 

"It isn't," Shisui said wisely. "But sacrifice for the greater good is worth it, don't you think?" His eyes seemed to be searching hers for something. Naru met his stare head on, willing to prove she was trustworthy. His pupils ran back and forth over hers. After a few moments, he relaxed and plowed foward without waiting for her answer. "When the time comes though, I want to bring Itachi into the fold. He's trustworthy," He assured her, glancing at his younger cousin who was working in the kitchen. 

"Itachi can be brought in now. In fact, I wouldn't have discussed it with him here if I didn't think he could handle it. But I don't want him to be as active on this as we are." She smiled at Itachi. "You're both great Shinobi, but I would have a better sense of peace if you weren't already trying to take down Council members, I see the will of fire burning brightly within both of you." 

Shisui whistled through parted lips. "Wow. You've been here for about a week and a half and they've already instilled the concept of the will of fire in you?" He laughed and the sound was true and real. 

Naru shook her head. "It has only been a short while but my time here has been eventful. And I'm finding that my team makes me... happy." She said truthfully. She wondered why she dared to share so much with someone who barely knew her, but it was easier this way. Talking to someone who didn't really have an opinion on you because they didn't know you was enlightening. There was no bias. Naru grabbed her tea as the last of her ramen disappeared. "If today was any indication, I'll probably be seeing you around a lot, too, Shisui." 

Shisui chuckled. "Today was fun. I don't know many people who would get into a mud fight from the first meet, but it was certainly fun."

The sky was dark outside, and the moon shone through the window. 

Naruto clucked her tongue. "If you haven't done that before today, I'd say you're meeting all the wrong people."

"All the normal people," Itachi corrected lowly.

The older Uchiha smiled. "You think you're the shit, don't you?" 

Naru took a sip of her tea. "I am the shit," She said confidently, and let out a smirk when he guffawed. "Unlike you. You're just shit."

Itachi snickered and Shisui gaped at her. "You're so rude. I invite you to my house and loan you my clothes, give you my tea and ramen, and you're just so disrespectful, I-" He cut himself off, "-Just wait, Naruto-chan. I'll be there when you least expect it to fling a mudball in your smug little face."

"I'll believe it when I see it, young kohai."

“I’m older than you!” Shisui sputtered in offense and Itachi finally let out a loud laugh. Naru grinned and took another sip of her tea.

”Apologies,” Naruto paused dramatically, “ _Ancient_ kohai.” 

She laughed, dodging his outstretched arms of fury. 

\--><\--

The next morning saw Naruto's eyes drooping as she dragged herself to the training field where she knew her team was already waiting. When she got there, she nearly had to blink twice. Minato was tree walking, his body horizontal to the ground as he focused on the book in his hand. Her eyes flashed and there was suddenly a silver haired man with an orange book taking his place.

She blinked rapidly, and turned to her two other teammates. And she was downright flabbergasted for a second. Kakashi stood besides a large boulder, ramrod straight as he always was, his dual eyes sharpening in on her as she slung her bag mindlessly next to the tree and made her way over to them. His calculating gaze scanned her over once before he was turning away as if it had never happened. 

And then there was Rin. Naruto tried not to let her jaw drop as she took in the girls features. There was nothing abnormally different about her -- same clothes, same hair, same everything... except Naruto was sure she had never seen anyone so... red in her entire life. Not even Hinata, who had stuttered and blushed over the slightest thing. 

Rin was glancing at Kakashi, something akin to adoration shining in her eyes that projected a perfect spotlight on him. Her hands were firmly behind her back as she spoke to which Kakashi barely responded to. 

It was like looking into the future, and she could feel Sakura and Sasuke's energy emitting from the pair. Thank Kami Obito wasn't around, because he'd no doubt be heartbroken. 

And now that she was really looking, Kakashi looked completely out of his element, like he didn't know what to do about the girl who was a stuttering emotional mess next to him. Her jaw snapped shut when Kakashi sent her a glare, his face pleading with her not to make a joke about what he was clearly trying to pretend he didn't see. 

Much to Rin's chagrin, the silver haired streak used her arrival as an opportunity to detach himself from her, a quick flash of hurt passing over her kind features. Naruto internally winced. 

"You're late," Kakashi snapped, materializing next to her, manhandling her until they reached Minato. Her father snapped his book shut, and tucked the red covered novel into his breast pocket before jumping down onto the ground soundlessly. 

"Good morning, my cute little students!" Minato beamed. 

"Good morning, Sensei," They chorused. Rin had appeared behind them, her normal color back thankfully.

Naruto didn't particularly like fangirls, and while Rin had a crush, she was nothing like how Sakura and Ino had been back in her time. So that was acceptable.

Minato rubbed his hands together, and faced them brightly, "Right!" he said. "I told you how the pair ups were going to be, last time so let's not waste a single second, hm? Naruto and Rin, work on your taijutsu. You both need to touch up a little on your leg swings. Kakashi and I will be sparring a little while away. Call on us if you need anything!" 

Then Minato was trudging over the hill. As Kakashi moved to follow, Naruto cursed and grabbed him by the brown straps criss crossed over his shirt. He flew back a few steps and she cuffed him on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Kakashi rubbed his abused head gingerly. "What?" He gave her a bland stare.

Naruto sighed, and wondered why he was so dense. She pulled him to her and strode him away from Minato and Rin and waited until they were out of earshot. "Kami, Kakashi. Could you _try_ being a little nicer to Rin? You know how she thinks of you, and you're clearly hurting her feelings."

Kakashi pulled away from her and shoved her arm from around his shoulders. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he lied, digging his hands into his pockets and avoiding her gaze. 

"Kakashi."

He stubbornly refused to look at her, his silver locks tousling in the blowing wind.

"KAKASHI!" Minato called, having realized his apprentice was chatting with the blonde. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, Sensei," He called back, moving away from Naruto. She kept pace with him, and chattered lowly. 

"Just say you'll try, hm?" She pleaded, knowing he wasn't as stone cold as he made himself seem.

Kakashi sighed in resignation. "Fine, fine. Just get off my case, okay? And don't say this stuff so loud! I don't want anyone to hear." 

And although she knew he had said it just to shut her up, she still beamed sillily at him, and gave his arm a friendly squeeze. "Thank you, Kakashi-kun." 

He stiffened, but the bright blonde didn't notice and let go to catch up with Rin who was walking back to the edge of the field. The jonin stared after her, eyes wide, the feel of her friendly gesture like a phantom sensation on his arm. 

_Stupid,_ he scowled himself. _Why is she so different?_

\--><\--

"Ready..."

"Set..."

"GO!" Their voices called out in unison. Naruto immediately stretched into an offensive position, leaving Rin to fall back into a defensive stance. Naruto flew forwards like a wind demon was at her heels, pushing her into Rin's space. She thrust her fist out into a straight punch, and Rin leaned back to avoid it. She brought her palms up to strike her, Rin parrying back and forth as their fight moved them back, Rin seeking to space away from her. 

Naruto was caught off guard when Rin's leg flew up in a wide arc and she brought her forearms up to block it, moving back as Rin countered with a series of punches and kicks. Naruto pushed back and leveraged herself off of the older girl's shoulders, adding chakra to her hands to propel herself into the air. Naruto landed a few feet away before charging at the girl, dodging the flying fist that came at her before she twisted and struck her palm to the back of her shoulder blades. Rin twisted and her front leg stuck out and struck Naruto in the middle of her abdomen, sending her flying back, her head hitting the ground in a dull sound. 

Naruto rubbed the back of her head with a wince, sending puppy eyes at her only female teammate. "Maa, if you're trying to have another patient to treat, Rin-chan." 

Rin's little laugh made her eyes sparkle, and she stepped closer to hold out a hand for Naruto to take. "If you're going to give me free experience, I'm going to take advantage of it, Naru-chan." Grinning a little too wickedly and not feeling guilty for it, she swept her foot out under Rin and she fell of balance, plopping right besides Naruto. 

"You don't play fair!" Rin groaned, turning her head sideways to stare at the blonde. 

Naruto groaned as she got to her knees, and wagged a finger at Rin. "Hm, Rin-chan. Let that be a lesson. When you're fighting out there, no one will ever be fair." 

The blonde pulled the brunette to her feet, both of them re-entering the neutral stance. Their eyes met, chocolate on sky, and Rin charged at her, fists ready. She threw the first punch, and Naruto caught her fist, pulling Rin towards her to gain momentum. She punched Rin in the hip, making sure to avoid any fatal areas. Rin stumbled away from her, and Naruto let her leg jab out, and Rin jumped back. 

"Too slow, Naruto," Rin taunted, her cheeks flushed from exertion. Naruto grinned back. She changed her stance and ducked down to avoid the kick that had Rin's leg arcing above her. Using her low position, she jabbed her fist again, Rin slamming her palm forward to meet her with her palm. Moving away slightly, the blonde's leg flew out to make contact with Rin's side. Rin grunted, and used Naruto's slow pull back to grab her leg, pulling her in a similar fashion to what she had done before.

Naruto was hauled closer and Rin let her palm strike the girl's chest, sending her tethering off balance. Digging chakra coated feet into the solid ground, she jabbed her elbow up, catching Rin's arm. 

Then she jumped up, her foot going out sideways and hitting Rin's leg, making the other girl buckle from the sudden force. Naruto straddled her and held her forearm to her neck and pressed down slightly. 

Rin slammed her palm down on the grass as a sign of surrender, and Naruto pulled back, sweat dripping down her face. The winds felt like a balm against her skin, and she held out a hand and pulled Rin up besides her. 

Sweeping a wave of brown hair out of her eyes, Rin grinned at her. "Not bad, Naruto." 

Naruto cackled and slung her arm around Rin, walking them back to the base of the tree so that they could take a breather.

\--><\--

The following day had Rin at the hospital for a shift and Minato shadowing the Hokage, Naruto and Kakashi were left to their own devices. Kakashi was a bit miffed that the Sandaime hadn't assigned him any solo missions now that he was a jonin, but Naruto was glad even if she would never say it aloud. Even if Kakashi qualified by jonin standards, he was still just a kid. He wasn't even a teenager yet. 

The two had visited Obito in the morning and Naru had watched on in great amusement as they pretended to not like each other. It was almost endearing in the way she saw herself and Sasuke in them. 

After that, they had been walking back to Naru's apartment per her request when Kakashi had suddenly gone rigid next to her, his face blanching, forcing her to go alert.

"What's wrong?" She asked, eyeing him through her peripheral. She kept her body straight forward though, so that whatever threat there was didn't notice they had caught onto them. He was on edge, his lithe body standing straight up like he had electrocuted himself on a live wire. 

"Walk. Faster." Was his curt reply, his own two feet speeding up remarkably quick. They began to push past people who gave small shouts of annoyance at the boy's lack of manners.

Naru kept pace with him but the silver haired jonin refused to speak about what was clearly troubling him. Well, that was until a loud and abnormally exuberant voice called, "MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" 

Kakashi visibly sweatdropped and and Naruto's head swiveled to Gai, his loud presence calling attention to him without fail. She guffawed right off the bat, Kakashi's fists clenched at her antics. "Don't tell me you're hiding from Maito Gai," She teased, poking him with her index finger which he promptly ignored. This was one of the rarer instances where Naruto wishes she had the Uchiha's kekkei genkai, if only to record the panic her normally stoic companion managed to convey just through the upper portion of his face. Gai was loud and energetic, but he was determined and one of the strongest Shinobi Naruto had ever come to know, so she respected him. If only Kakashi knew how much they would come to grow together side by side. 

"Shut up!" He half yelled. "And besides, if you want to make it to your house, you might want to hurry up before Gai challenges me to something or the other." 

"Oh no," She said. "I think I'd much rather prefer to see whatever's got you so scared." Kakashi scowled (or so she thought, it was kind of hard to tell when his mask covered his mouth) and grabbed her hand and pulled behind him as they made their way further down the road to her house. 

Gai called loudly behind them again, and Kakashi began channeling chakra into his feet, speeding up just a bit more. "C'mon," He pleaded. "There will be plenty of opportunities for you to see Gai and I fight."

"Why can't I see now?" She argued. Naru dragged her heels into the dirt ground and Kakashi looked back and forth from her shoes to what was undoubtedly the Blue Beast of Konoha. 

"I am not above picking you up and carrying you," He threatened. "And I will do it if you don't get moving within the next five seconds."

"I don't believe you, you're way too we-"

"Five."

"And I could just call out for Gai right now!"

"Four."

''Stop counting!''

"Three."

Naruto growled and crossed her arms. "Have fun digging me out when my feet are chakra coated to the floor."

"Two."

Naruto stuck her feet deep into the mud and over Kakashi's shoulder she could see a young boy wearing a familiar green jumpsuit waving in their direction. "GAI!" Naru shouted wildly, waving her hand back. Kakashi clapped his hand over her mouth, muffling her indignant noises.

"One."

Kakashi whirled around and covered his palms in chakra. He was tugging at her arms, and as much as she resisted, his (apparently not so boney) hands pulled her further out of the mud. "Fuck", She muttered. 

"Language, Naru-chan!" He grunted before he was hauling her out by her armpits, then pulling her over his back into piggyback formation. Naru screamed as Kakashi made a mad dash onto the roofs, her arms flung around his neck as they sprung for the air. It was oddly reminiscent of when they had been returning from Suna after their retrieval mission for Gaara, and Gai and Lee had engaged in a piggyback race with Kakashi and the bags and packs of the their friends as the victims. 

Gai's tenor was lost as he carried them over the roof tops and in the direction of her apartment. 

"This is kidnapping!" She yelled at him over the dull whistle of the wind, holding onto his waist with her legs. "I'm going to report you to Jiji!"

"If you didn't want this to happen, you should've listened when I said to hurry up." He said calmly, his body not faltering at the slightest with her added weight. "I don't mind Gai on a normal day, but sometimes you just gotta take a breather," He explained. 

"You just sound like a coward," Naru grumbled. "Just wait till I get my hands on you in training, Kakashi-kun. I'm going to kick you into next year, dattebayo."

\--><\--

When they arrived at her apartment, Naruto didn't waste any time before pulling Kakashi inside with a glare that radiated killing intent. "Sit down. You're going to help me with my sealing."

Kakashi snorted. "No thanks. I don't want to end up in a stretcher next to Obito."

Naruto pushed him down into the seat by her table and loomed over him. The blonde gathered her supplies - her scrolls and paintbrushes, and a washcloth soaked with water. “I’m not going to hurt you or anything, scaredy-cat,” She taunted. Much to her disappointment, he didn’t rise to the bait. 

"What's with the rag?" He asked her.

Naruto sat down next to him before explaining. "If you annoy me I reserve the rights to throw it at you. And, well, you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"Do what?" He asked suspiciously. His singular gray eye traveled over the supplies. Naru held out her shoulder for him to inspect. 

"You see that seal?" The blackened lines ran in a circular direction over her bicep forming a full ring. At his nod she said, "That's a seal that I put on myself. It's a storage seal and I use it to keep weapons and water canteens should I ever need one." She turned her back and unzipped the top of her sweater so she could show him her neck. Tapping her nape, she focused his direction there. "This seal is for a special jutsu that I created while traveling with my guardian. All I have to do when I want is activate it with light chakra and then I'll have it ready to go. Handy, right?"

"I guess," He relented. "And you want to put a seal on me, is what you're getting at here. But I don't really understand why we would need it when there are sealing scrolls available."

"I do!" She smiled wide. "And sealing scrolls take up space. If you have more seals on your person, then it becomes less of a hassle. I'm working on a special seal for the whole team, and while I've put seals on myself before, I've never done it on another person before. So you're going to be my guinea pig."

"That's reassuring," Kakashi muttered sarcastically.

"Awww, don't be such a big baby, Kakashi-kun!" Naru cooed. "Now hold out your arm and let me get to it." Kakashi unwrapped the careful bandages over his wrist and held it out. Naru dipped the brush into the pot of ink and began drawing over his skin. Kakashi shivered as the coldness grasped his arm.

For a while, they were both silent while Naruto completed the seal with perfection. The ink stood out against his pale sand skin, and Naruto couldn't help but notice the abundance of tiny scars that littered his arm. They were healed over and most had just faded into a deeper shade of color. 

"Does it hurt?" She asked as she painted a swirl directly over one of his scars. 

"Not anymore. I was creating my own one-hit jutsu and even though I got it down, lightning chakra is... chaotic and unpredictable. Even when it's your own affinity, it can still hurt you."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "I can help you with that. When you fight, you automatically channel chakra regardless of whether or not you're using ninjutsu or genjutsu or whatever it is you use. When _you_ fight specifically, your body always lights up and your lightning crackles around you. If there are... any burns or scars you need help with, I can help you."

"We already have a medic," Kakashi said, although not spitefully. Just like he was merely pointing out a fact. 

Naruto sighed. Honestly. Men could be idiots. She set down her paintbrush. "Watch," She instructed. Slowly, red chakra began to flow out of her. Not the copious amounts that she used to have when the Kyuubi had been with her, but a more reserved storage. Kakashi let out a small gasp as the chakra encased his arm. They both watched on as the scars began to heal and fade away completely. "This is what I used to heal Obito when I found him," Naruto told him. When the last scar was gone, the chakra retracted back inside of her. "But I'd like it if you could keep it a under wraps for now."

Kakashi examined his wrist, that was now flawless and like porcelain, in-progress seal not counting. "How did you do that? Not even medic-nins can clear away scars." 

The blonde flashed him a smile. "That's a secret, Kakashi-kun."

He stared at her in confusion. "Why would you show me that? How do you know I won't tell Minato-sensei or someone?" 

Naruto shrugged. "I just have a feeling you're pretty trustworthy." It wasn't just a feeling. Knowing Kakashi as long as she had - Naruto trusted him with her life. Even if he didn't know her the way she did him, Kakashi was a good person beneath his nonchalant demeanor and superior attitude. That was something she would stand by for the rest of her life. 

The blonde could feel his stare weighing her down as she began drawing out the rest of the seal over his arm. Then a hand was pulling a strand of hair over her shoulder, and Naruto froze. Her cheeks began to heat up as she looked up at Kakashi, whose whole body was now angled towards her. He seemed surprised by his own actions, and was immediately pulling back.

"Sorry," He muttered, not meeting her gaze anymore. "Just didn't want your hair getting in your eyes while you worked on the seal.”

Well. That made sense. Kakashi obviously wouldn't want her messing up that she was permanently placing on his body. She didn't deign him with a response, and instead focused on creating the rest of the seal. "Bite your thumb and smear it over the ink," She instructed. And then she realized - his mask. "Wait, sorry." She pulled out a shuriken and gently pricked his thumb with the sharp edge. Blood rushed to the surface of the wound and he pressed it over the ink and dragged it down. Then she was pressing her own chakra infused fingers onto the seal until the blood and energy simmered under his skin.

"There!" Naruto said proudly. "That's a storage seal. Whenever you want to put something in it, a drop of blood over the ink will do. If you want to take something out, then you need to channel chakra into it. Okay?" 

"Okay. But what about the other seal you showed me? The one that you stored your jutsu in?"

"That one's a bit more complicated," Naru admitted, scratching her whiskered cheek. Kakashi held his arm out stiffely over the table. "Obviously the one you might use for yourself will have to be tailored to your specific jutsu. Your chakra affinity is a bit more erratic than mine so the seal in which you create to hold your jutsu will have to be stronger than the one I've made. I can help you create your seal but doing tests runs to make sure it works will take a lot of your chakra," She warned him. "It will also take a lot of time to perfect it. You need to be wary of how much chakra you give off during each test run because you still have your jonin duties as well as training with the team. Not to mention that seals have their own individual components. When I made the seal for my jutsu, there was a wind-compatible component infused with the actual storage component. Yours will have to be lightning-compatible."

"I won’t push it," He promised. "But when we meet might be weird because I don’t really have a particular schedule." 

"That’s fine." Naru assured him. "I also have a bit of a project going with Shisui so you might find me busy." And she'd be assassinating Council member on the side but that was a moot point. Nothing really worth mentioning. 

Kakashi’s silver brow lifted. "Oh? So you got your date then?" His eye scanned over the apartment, and his eye lines crinkled in what she knew was a demonic grin. "And I see you didn't waste any time, huh?" He nodded his head towards the sweatshirt that Shisui had allowed her to borrow, which was now flung over her sleeping bag, the Uchiha fan clearly present on the back.

Naru blushed. "YOU'RE SUCH A PERVERT! I'M ONLY TEN!" She screeched.

Naruto thought it was well deserved when the wet cloth slapped him full in the face. 

—><—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! I was really astounded by the sheer amount of comments and kudos I got last week!! And I just wanted to say thank you for help me reach past the 200 mark! I’m so happy so many of you enjoy my story. 
> 
> Speaking of, I hope you guys enjoyed this week’s chapter. 
> 
> Stay safe and happy reading :) 
> 
> P.S. I just finished watching that scene where Kakashi finds out that Tobi is Obito like that shit was actually so heartbreaking.


	9. Cold Nights and Warm Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really long chapter so stay with me now! I also decided to post it earlier so you guys had extra time to read it before I posted the next chapter next week.

Obito was almost done healing, and he was set to be released soon much to the team’s relief. They had spent countless hours training and sparring, and Kakashi and Naruto had even begun working on the lightning compatible seal. 

A few weeks after Naruto had skin-sealed Kakashi saw Team Minato on a mission to Yukigakure, where the weather was drastically comparable to that of the Hidden Leaf. Where Konoha was almost always warm with the exception of the rainfall that sometimes accompanied the humid weather and the occasional snowfall in the winter, the Hidden Snow was well, _snowy_. Snow capped mountains glittered dangerously under the white, cold, sun, and the trees were barren. Free of life, free of growth. No animals were to be found, and nighttime easily brought the coldest temperatures of the day. 

The Team had set up camp just outside of the small and humble village. The fire burned brightly, but other than reconvening for brief team meetings, they mostly stayed in their tents for warmth. Naruto and Rin had their own tent, where they had pushed their sleeping bags together to form a bigger bed for two of them to share body heat and space. Naruto was naturally warm from the Kyuubi, and it was something Rin seem to appreciate as she latched onto Naruto's arm without a single ounce of shame. 

Naru's teeth chattered at a ridiculous rate - any faster and they might just fall off. Rin was faring no better, her body constantly shivering in order to warm her up which didn't seem to be working. Kakashi and Minato were probably having as much problems as they were. 

"R-Rin-chan," Naru said, her jaw clenching from the chatter. "Wh-when we get b-b-back to Konoha, I-I'm never taking a-another mission in th-the Hidden Snow a-again. You'll have t-t-to kill me fir-first." She stuttered over her words. 

Rin let out a broken chuckle and burrowed closer into Naruto's side. They were both bundled up in fur coats and Shinobi pants and thick socks, but nothing seemed to be keeping the cold out. An oil lamp lit the corner of the tent. "Minato-sensei w-wants us to be ready t-to leave at 8."

"I kn-know!" Naruto groaned, banding her arm over Rin's waist to tuck the older girl closer to her side. "He ha-hates us!"

Outside the tent, the wind roared wildly, blocking out all the other surrounding sounds. Rin chuckled and Naruto wanted to scowl when she saw the girl's breath in the air. Fucking ridiculous. Any missions that were set in temperatures under freezing should be S-rank and S-rank alone. "Obito is s-so lucky!' She couldn't stop herself from complaining. 'Bet he's just m-mock-mocking us from the wa-warmth of Konoha.' 

The tent's structure rattled as another powerful wind struck. The coldness seemed to invade through all the crooks and crannies of the tent, and when the flickering that Naru could vaguely see from her position in the tent disappeared. she knew the fire had been outed. 

The night passed noisily and Naru could barely get any sleep. Rin had dozed off after some time, her body finally warming up. And while Naru was warm, the wind made her unsettled. It was strange to think considering it was her own affinity but the way it howled could not help but remind her of the roars of the battlefield. All she could see in her mind's forefront were friends and loved ones falling at Madara's hand. 

When morning came, Rin and Naruto dressed quickly, both grumbling about leaving the better conditions of the tent for the brutal chill in the air. The sky was stark and white and without sun. Minato's golden head of hair had been covered by a hat, and Kakashi was bundled up past his chin. They ate a quick breakfast before they were trekking up past the pass of the mountain side where thin ice and snow was layered over every surface. It was especially slippery, and Naruto made sure to channel chakra into her feet so she didn't lose her balance.

The journey was tedious but before long they were stuffing into a small cabin inn that glowed warmly. The outside was completely log and it was stuck in between snow flurried pine trees, but from the two windows that were encased into the front, a deep orange was flashing out.

Smoke piped up from the chimney, and there were a fresh track of footprints that led straight up to the cabin door. 

"Shall we?" Minato asked, turning to face them with a shine in his eyes. Naruto glared at him. How in hell could he be so animated when they were freezing their asses off, she would never know. "We're going to meet someone from the Yuki Clan. I have to admit, I'm quite curious."

"Why is that, Sensei?" Rin asked.

"The Yuki clan is a bit sheltered. We don't know much about them because they were often mistreated for their abilities. One major ability passed down through generations of the clan was this technique called Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. It's a very powerful move wielded by kekkei genkai users, but it got the clan labelled as demonic."

Naruto stopped short when she heard that. "I'm sorry," She laughed uncertainly. "Could you repeat that?"

"Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals," Minato said patiently. "You need to be able to manipulate water and wind for it. It's nearly impossible to break through from if you find yourself trapped in it."

Naruto found the sudden urge to hurl up her barely there breakfast. Because that technique was painfully familiar.

Haku and Zabuza had been a lifetime ago, but the lessons she had learnt through them had never been forgotten - and it was when she had established her own ninja way. Her and Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi hadn't been a perfect team, but they had fought for one another then, and the injustices that the people in the Land of Waves had faced. Minato knocked on the door, and there was a lengthy pause.

Kakashi shuffled on his feet, and the door creaked open. Someone in a gray cloak greeted them, their face covered and shadowed by the length of his hood, and his feet drawn up in what looked to be knee-high boots and his hands in long elbow-reaching gloves. The only defining feature on their mysterious host was a sharp bit of ice blue hair peeking out from under the hood.

"Hello," Minato said, taking the lead. "I'm Minato Namikaze, a jonin from The Hidden Leaf Village. My team and I are here on an escort mission for one of the Yuki clan members to the Glacial Apothecary." Naruto snorted and Rin promptly elbowed her. Which was totally undeserved because if you were going to name something the Glacial Apothecary, you shouldn't be surprised when you were made fun of. Naruto was awesome at naming things if she did say so herself. The Rasenshuriken was a masterpiece in it's own right, but Mr. Ukki? _Pure genius._

The hooded man didn't say a single thing, but Naruto knew he was a Shinobi. She could sense a light chakra trail around him that was almost similar to that of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, so she assumed he must have been water specialized. Blue Hair only stepped aside and ushered them into the lit cabin, and Naruto nearly moaned in relief as a rush of warmth washed over her, heating up her numb hands and pink cheeks, her blonde hair strewn from the gale. The rest of the team seemed to have similar reactions. Rin let out a breath and shivered in her jacket, her hands rubbing together. Kakashi's flushed ears lost their color, and Minato was the only one unaffected. 

The nameless ninja led them up them up a staircase that creaked on every other step. Upon the landing, he pushed open a door and it was oddly wide for such a compact cabin. A nin in a mask greeted them, barely making much noise. She was draped in a periwinkle blue coat that matched hooded guy's hair. Her coat was lined with fur, but the mask over her face was pure porcelain, almost pink colored. Dark eyes met them from behind it, and a shiny damascus was strapped to the kunoichi's back. 

"Hello, Leaf-nin," The masked woman said softly, her voice barely a whisper. "I must thank you for your assistance in guiding me to the Glacial Apothecary." She touched her mask with gloved fingers. "I also must ask you do not ask me to remove my mask. My identity will remain a secret, for protection purposes."

"Of course," Minato assured her. "I've been told that your way to the apothecary has been stormed by enemy nin, is that right?"

She nodded. "There have been a band of Kiri-nin who have been blocking the pathways. But our people need the herbs specifically grown in the apothecary are used for medicinal reasons. Without them, our people have been struggling with an onslaught of diseases that have come up somewhat randomly."

"Are you suggesting the Kiri-nin are using bioweapons?" Rin asked, ever so quick on the uptake.

The woman shook her head. "We are unsure. There's nothing concrete to go by, just circumstantial evidence at best. We don't want to make the accusations lest Kiri come knocking on our door. Even if they are a rebel group, falsely pointing figures can only lead to war. It would suggest Kiri is developing bioweapons, and the other villages would be in a state of fury."

Minato looked alarmed. "Do you have equipped medic nin?"

"We have medic nin but their supplies are running low as we don't go to restock from the apothecary."

Minato took point. "Okay. My team and I will escort you the apothecary." He turned to the chunin. "Rin and Naruto, you two will take flank. Naruto, besides protecting our friend, you'll also make sure no enemies get to Rin. Of course, the priority is the mission but since she's the medic, just keep a close eye, okay?" He winked. "Kakashi, you'll be in front with me. It'll be like delta formation in training."

They nodded in confirmation, and Naruto prepared herself for the onslaught of cold again.

\--><\--

The mission was relatively disastrous.

Snow flurried lightly as they made their way around the bend that wrapped around the white cliffside, and the sound of roaring water below drowned out most of the sounds. The sea was dark and churning, the waves foaming savagely as the well worn rocks hit the edge of the black sanded shore. Kakashi was silent up front, but he seemed to be listening as Minato chattered away amicably about something or the other - if Naru had to guess, her mother from the way he was gesticulating wildly. She wished she could be up there in front to listen to all the stories her father had to tell about her mother, but she was also content to listen to Rin.

The truth was, she didn't know Rin that well. From Team Minato, it was obvious she could nail Kakashi down better than any of her other teammates for obvious reasons. Obito was harder to eye, as who he was now and who he had been when she had met were completely different people. 

Rin was clever. She spoke intelligently and was very fascinated with the medical arts. She probably would have turned out as strong as Sakura-chan had she been under proper advisory like Tsunade or Shizune. She seemed enthralled with the idea of bioweapons even if the concept of its usage disgusted her a bit. 

"The lack of ethics that the Kiri nin would be displaying if they were really pulling a stunt like that!" Rin fumed as they walked at a proper distance behind their charge, their boots making prints in the sheer snow. "I'm sure that by regulations, that's cause for war. Not to mention, it's one thing to fight people on the battlefront with weapons and jutsus, but it's another to purposefully infect innocent people just because of where they come from."

"I wonder how they would establish a bioweapon, though," Naruto wondered. "It's obviously not being dispensed through the air. It would be too easy for Kiri nin to catch it themselves."

Rin shook her head. "If they managed to create a vaccine and they administered it to themselves before dispersing it, then it could be an aerial weapon. But... the smarter and safer way to do it would be through the water supply."

Naru's head turned on a swivel. "Huh?" 

"Well, think about it. Logically, you and I are not used to relying on plumbing and tap water to hydrate our bodies. As Shinboi, we're often in outside areas and prefer to get our water from natural sources like lakes and springs. However, civilians rely on plumbing. The Kiri-nin that could've infected the water supply won't be affected because as Shinboi, they find natural resources. Yukigakure always has a snowy or wet climate, making water very easy to come by naturally, but it wouldn't be first instinct to many to hold a canteen up to the rain and drink. Why would you when you can turn on the sink and fill it much faster in a gush of water rather than one raindrop at a time?"

Naruto took a moment to process that. Slowly, it clicked together. "So... what you're saying is that all those infected are those drinking from tap?"

The purple striped girl beamed brightly at her. "Exactly. I mean we don't have any particular evidence but -"

"-It's plausible," Naru finished. 

Their charge spoke quietly from in front of them. "That is what the Yuki clan fears. Our first order of action is working on curing our people, but we need to locate the source of the outbreak."

That was really terrible. The number of people who used the same water supply that was slowly killing them was probably outrageous, and it would have serious impact on Yukigakure if it wasn't fixed properly. 

They were almost past the bend when they stumbled across a fern, which, wouldn't be out of the ordinary had there been any other plants on the way. Naruto had a swift flashback to their mission to the Land of Waves when that puddle of water had been on their path.. and it had turned out that...

The fern swayed slightly, and Naruto barely had time to push both the woman and Rin out the way.

"SENSEI!" Naru screamed to get his attention. She couldn't bother to pay attention to his moves right then, because then the fern was transforming and bounding at her was a man, skin rugged and clothes dusted in snow, a chakra infused scythe in hand. 

_Kami-_

He swung at her and the scythe flared a burnt red color. Naru brought up a kunai and clashed fiercely, the hooked tip of the weapon catching in her sleeve and tearing it. 

He grinned sickly at her, and leaned in closer. 

Minato was screaming orders at Kakashi - for him to take their charge and continue up the pathway at top speed. Kakashi was following immediately, grabbing the woman by her blue coat and shun-shinning them out of sight. Minato set his sights on the nin advancing heavily on Naru, but then a second blurred figure was catching him by the arm and engaging in a fight.

' _They're good_ ,' Naru thought. Better than any base level rebels had the right to be. 

"Naruto!" Her father called. "You and Rin need to follow Kakashi now!"

Naruto ignored him. Regardless of the legend that Minato turned out to be in the future as the Yellow Flash, there was no way she was leaving her father to fight these nin by himself. The Kiri-nin wrapped his leg around her own and pulled. She stumbled forward, but dug her kunai into the strap of his vest and let out a satisfactory grin when it hit it's mark, the man yowling in protest against the blade. 

Using the chance for what it was, Naru kicked him back while grabbing hold of the shaft of the scythe and pulled. It flew out of his grasp and she fell back. Mindful of the cliff's edge behind her, she regained her balance and almost got nicked by the senbon he threw at her. So busy dodging that, Naruto didn't register the hand signs he quickly flew through. 

"Doton: Tsuchi Tou Tou!" The Kiri-nin yelled before slamming his palm down upon the snow. The earth crackled below them and then it was moving, almost like a conveyor belt. The mud and dirt underneath the gravel and snow sprung up and moved towards Naru and Rin in fast waves. Naru and Rin could barely keep their balance, the quick paced movement of the Earth disrupting any semblance of chakra control she had. The man was throwing shuriken then, and there was hardly a second chance. With all her strength, Naruto pushed Rin into Minato who quickly steadied the girl before meeting the enemy head on. She saw him - and nearly stopped short. The man's eyes glittered red and two tomoe stared back at her.

No wonder it was taking Minato longer than usual to finish his fight - the Sharingan was tracking and anticipating his every move. Naruto had a brief moment to wonder who the mysterious Uchiha was - if they were an Uchiha at all. 

Unfortunately, her save of Rin had the Kiri nin's Earth jutsu slamming into her full force. Before she could regain herself, he was shooting off another one, and Naru felt a sense of dread settle over her. 

"Doton: Maruishi Tounyuu!" The same voice cried out. The huge crack of boulders unraveled and hovered between them before he was shooting his fingers in her direction and Naru felt sick as the boulder crashed into her small frame and took her over the edge of the cliff with it's weight. 

It hit her square in the chest and her mouth was open as she fell but no sound came out. The impact of the force of the rock felt like a battering ram, and Naruto heard over the whistle of wind as her ribs cracked dangerously, her chest on fire when the weight didn't let up. 

She thought she heard Rin scream her name, but she wasn't sure. The sea churned below her and Naruto plummeted head first into the untamable body of water. Her back groaned when she hit the water, her body going almost limp as she felt something shatter - it felt like a solid wall and her limbs felt like lead from the rock. Salty water burnt her eyes and filled her lungs, and Naru desperately tried to swim herself back above the surface, but her ribs and spine ached and she couldn't. Every stroke felt like it might kill her painfully, and the lack of air in her lungs had her head spinning in circles. 

The rock slowly slid off of her and into the dark abyss below, and Naruto's lungs protested from the lack of oxygen. Her head had just broke the water when another wave was sweeping her back under. She choked as a rush of water surged down her mouth, effectively cutting of her breathing. She fought furiously, ignoring the protests of her back as she kicked her legs up and tried to push her way to the surface. 

But each time she broke, another wave was there to pull her down.

Again.

And again.

It was relentless, and she felt herself getting swept back in the current, the foam lurching as the sea raged on. 

Eventually the waves slammed her into the broken rocks that laid by the edge, and she nearly let out a scream of pure agony when a jagged piece of rock imbedded itself deep into her leg. The water around her pooled into a deep red, and Naru wished she could sever a limb for herself when the salt water instantly rushed inside her wound, making it sting like a million fires. 

Body bruised and battered, she could barely keep herself clinging to the rock, and didn't resist when the next wave crashed into her and pulled her back down.

Faintly, she wondered if this is what Jiraiya had felt like when he had died. 

\--><\--

Slight voices tickled the edge of Naru's mind.

"...Become infected if it doesn't heal properly." The voice was serious and Naru felt her eyebrows furrow. Whoever was speaking should lighten up a bit. And who was injured?

Another voice pricked her interest. 

"...Stupidly reckless, she has no sense of self preservation. Her leg wasn't even the worst part. I'm more worried about her back."

"Calm down, Kakashi." The voice admonished. "Rin is taking care of her right now. Her back has already healed, and it looks good as new. She'll be okay."

As he said that, a burst of heat covered her leg until it began to tingle. Naru let out a soft chuckle. It tickled.

"Naruto?" A high voice called. "Are you awake?"

"No, Sakura-chan. Let me sleep." Naruto grumbled and nestled her head into the softness beneath her. "Training is cancelled."

There was a pause before what had to be Sasuke exclaimed; "She's gone delusional, Sensei!"

"Who's Sakura?" The same soft voice asked.

Naruto felt an unexplainable giggle bubble out of her, her eyes shuttered close. "Don't be silly, Sakura." Blindly, she reached up and groped at the air until she met soft skin. She felt around until silky strands of hair pooled between her fingers. "Your hair is so nice, Sakura-chan. I bet Sasuke-kun loves it." Her voice took on a teasing tilt, and there was a choked sound before she laughed again. "Don't get shy on me. You know how those Uchiha are."

There was a loud cough and then Sakura was speaking again. 

"Those Uchiha really are something." Sakura agreed hesitantly. 

Naruto pulled her pillow firmly under her and ignored it when it squealed. Weird. She didn't know pillows could do that. "Too bad Sasuke's the only one we got to know. I bet Itachi and Shisui weren't so broody." 

A different voice came suddenly, and it was deeper. "Shisui huh?" Her head rumbled oddly. 

"Shisui." Naru said sleepily back. "You know. Itachi and Sasuke's older cousin." This was Sai wasn't it? "Sai? You sound different. And where's Kakashi?"

There was a couple of quick sounds above her again, before Sakura was covering her with something thin. "Go back to sleep, Naruto. You can talk to Kakashi when you wake up."

Snuggling down, Naru smiled obliviously. "Kay. Make sure he's not late okay, Sakura-chan?"

There was indignant spluttering and then Naru went dark again.

\--><\--

Naruto woke up and was surprised to find herself back in the tents that they had used to shelter themselves in with before their mission. Instead of Rin, though, Minato was sitting criss-cross apple sauce, watching her with indulgent eyes. Her whole body was stiff and ramrod straight like she had been stretched apart. Her muscles protested vehemently when she tried sitting up and her complete and utter pain shot up her leg like a bullet when she twisted it slightly. Gasping, she clutched her thigh. Her breath came out short and her chest ached and contracted. 

His blue orbs met her own and she was stunned by the level of concern that stared back at her. "Good morning, Naruto-chan! How are you feeling?"

"Minato-sensei? What happened? Why does-" She winced as a wave of feverish heat rolled through her leg making it throb, "Why does my leg hurt so much?"

His expression darkened. "You took a tumble over the cliff."

"...Over the cliff," She repeated uncertainly. 

"You slammed into a piece of jagged rock and got impaled through your leg. It was through and through, so Rin had to patch it up. It's still healing." His sharp eyes scanned her over. "How are you breathing? You cracked several ribs upon hitting the water and your back cracked on impact with the water from the height that you fell." 

Clutching her hand to her chest, Naru took in a deep breath and winced when her breaths sent a sharp sting of pain through her. "It hurts a bit." Naruto had never noticed how exempt she had been from pain and wounds until she didn't have Kurama with her. 

Minato nodded. "It's to be expected. With limited supplies and experience, we weren't able to do much for you. You'll receive proper treatment when we return to Konoha."

Naru internally winced at the thought of going back to the hospital so soon. Obito would never let her live it down. "The mission?" She questioned.

"Kakashi was able to escort the Yuki clan member by himself for the rest of the way. Rin and I managed to take care of the Kiri-nin, as well as any other trouble along the pathway."

Naruto briefly recalled the conversation she and Rin had had on the way up the pass. "Did you guys find out if the Kiri nin were spreading a bio-weapon?" She asked worried.

Minato nodded. "When we finished tying up all the loose ends, Shinobi from Yukigakure interrogated them. They revealed that they had been infecting the waters so that it spread through the community faster. The Yuki clan came together and they were able to use a water jutsu to purify the waters again." He shook his head and a look of sheer amazement crossed his young features. "I've never seen anything like it, but they told me that because their main affinity is water, they were able to see that the systems were unclean."

That was good, but there was still the fact that so many people had properly drank that same water.

"How are they going to cure all the people that were infected? Do we have to stay and help them?" Naruto wasn't against staying and helping the civilians in their battle against the weapon, but she would rather herself armed with the knowledge that she was going to be suffering in the cold weather if they were.

Her father smiled. "We have completed our mission. We weren't supposed to cure anyone of the disease, just guide the Shinobi to the Apothecary, which we did. Of course, I offered our services but there wasn't much we could do. Rin is a skilled medic but her area of expertise lies within field amputations and healing actual wounds. It will be sometime before she begins to focus on herbs and creating antidotes. So the medics here will create it and administer it to anyone who's sick. Our mission is complete and we depart for Tea Country as soon as possible."

She scowled, "We're not returning home yet, then? What's happened?"

Minato's smile fell off his face slowly, and the blue in his eyes seemed to dull a little as he took in her small form. "I don't want to extend our mission with your condition being as it is," He admitted. "Sandaime-sama said that it was urgent that we go. But it does border the edge of the Land of Fire so when we go, it shouldn't be too long. Rin will help you if you need extra healing but if your previous injuries were any indication, you can heal quite fine. I'm just worried about how the travel will affect you right now."

"And?" Naruto repeated. "What's happening in Tea Country?"

"It's still wartime, even if we are looking victorious," Minato said seriously. "Konoha is trying to wager a peace treaty with the other nations, and we're attending a diplomatic mission of sorts." Naruto's mouth quirked up. Surely her father, the soon to be Yondaime Hokage could see how troublesome this mission was going to be. Regardless of enemy nin, Naruto had always found diplomatic missions much more dangerous than the ones that required combat. Diplomatics took a lot of effort to keep on a cool facade, playing your hand when you knew you had it without giving away all your cards. It was intense and the games behind it was something Naruto had never particularly engaged in when she was so used to voicing her opinion no matter who didn't care for it. 

Compared to that, combat missions or infiltration ops were always much easier. 

"That doesn't sound very smart," Naruto pointed out, and by the way Minato tensed she could see he shared the unsaid reservations. 

"It's not. It's actually the perfect set up for bloodshed if we're not careful. War and years of blackened history between nations have made peace very difficult. I can only hope... we in particular have scores to settle. Just on this mission, you were nearly killed by a Kiri nin. There will be nin of every caliber here; Iwa, Kiri, Suna, Kumo, and Konoha."

"We're not a diplomat team , though," Naruto said, feeling confused. "There must be a better suited unit to handle this."

Minato gave her a rueful smile, his eyes twinkling. "We are in fact a combat team, but my presence is enough to speak in for Konoha. My spot in the Bingo Book is enough to warrant me a silent threat, but I'm also well versed in the politics." He leaned forward a little as if he were to tell her a secret, "It hasn't been officially announced yet but I'm actually a runner up for the Hokage position. By attending this meeting, Sandaime-sama believes it will give me an opportunity to exercise an air of leadership."

"Wow, congratulations!" Naruto exclaimed. "When will you get sworn in?"

Minato ruffled her hair. "That's yet to be decided, and I'm not the only candidate. There's also Orochimaru-sama to think about, so it might not even be me."

Naruto grimaced. Orochimaru was conducting less than ethical experiments somewhere in a deep and dank hole. She would hate to see what would happen to Konoha if he were in charge."Ne, Sensei. I don't think Orochimaru-san would be as good a Hokage as you."

Minato chuckled before messing up her hair again, causing her to swat him away with a glare. "Sounds a bit biased, Naru-chan," He accused.

"How long is the run time?" She asked, thinking of how much of a pain it would be to run through cold weather when it felt like her chest was going to splinter open.

"Three days," Minato said. "But if you are truly not feeling up to it, I can get you back home. The Shinobi rulebook is one thing but you are still a child."

Naruto shook her head. She'd heal fast enough, and she didn't want to get left behind. Plus, when had something as measly as broken ribs ever stopped her from making a dumb choice? Never.

"We weren't able to find you until after the mission had been completed. By then you had washed up on the shore." A troubled look overcame his young features, and he absently picked at the zipper of his jacket. "You had hypothermia and you were bleeding out, Naruto. You almost died." He heaved a sigh and looked away. "First it was Obito and now it's you."

Naruto didn't really know what to say to that. It was an unfortunate series of events, true. But none of them had died. The mission had been completed. It was okay.

"We all knew what the risks were when we decided to become Shinobi, Sensei," She started. "We all know that we could die or that any mission might be our last. It's okay. It's not your fault."

He shook his head in guilt. "I'm your jonin-sensei. I'm supposed to be the Yellow Flash. What good is a title if I'm not fast enough to save my kids?"

"Hey." Naru heard herself say sharply. "Stop talking like that. It doesn't do you any good to beat yourself up, when the mission was a success. And not only was the mission a success, but we all came back alive, didn't we? In my books, that counts as a win.

"I would've preferred if you had come back unscathed," Minato grumbled almost petulantly.

Naruto laughed. "Don't worry, Sensei. I just think that boulders have it out for our team." Minato stared at her in surprise as if he was shocked she was able to joke about her own condition. Then he let out a small smile. 

And-" she hesitated, "-that ninja you were fighting. He had the Sharingan. Do you think-?"

"No, I don't think it was an Uchiha. The Uchiha are prided for their eyes and I believe that someone has stolen the eyes of a fallen Uchiha. I don't know, though, and I'd prefer not to even say anything because if there's and Uchiha actively attacking Konoha nin-"

"Then it'll look like there's a traitor."

"Yes," Minato nodded. "I will have to speak with Sandaime-sama. It's very worrisome." He gave her a look that spoke of tiredness, his blue eyes a little dimmer than what she was used to seeing. "Good job, Naruto." He gave her pigtails a little twirl before he ducked out the tent. 

Naruto preened under her father's attention, feeling a sense of content at gaining the acceptance she had never been able to get her whole life. As swift as Minato was gone, Kakashi and Rin were coming in. 

"Naruto!" Rin exclaimed before flinging her arms around her. 

Kakashi settled back on his heels and met her eyes over Rin's shoulder. "Naruto. You knuckle-headed ninja," The words came out fond and Naruto felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. "There's never a dull day with you." Naruto watched with a sense of pride as he waved a chakra hand over the seal she had drawn for him and pulled out a water skin, and handed it to her.

Mouthing a thank you, she gulped the water gratefully, wetting her parched mouth. 

Rin pulled back. "I can't believe you! Pushing me out the way like that! You're so reckless!" 

Naruto laughed and pulled Rin down under her arm, setting the water skin aside. "That's what friends are for, Rin-chan, dattebayo!"

Rin melted. "Thanks for the save, Naru-chan." Her brown eyes gleamed like silk chocolate. 

Kakashi folded his arms, and let his gray eyes analyze her.

"Naruto? I have a question. Who the hell is Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura and Sai?" Naruto's smile froze and Rin stiffened.

Her body tensed of it's own accord at the names. His eyes stared her down and she couldn't look away. 

"How do you know those names?" She whispered. Her heart began to beat erratically at the thought of her dead friends.

Rin settled next to her. "When we found you.. you were kind of in and out of it. You woke up and didn't know where you were. You didn't recognize us. And you kept calling for a Sakura, Sai, and Sasuke. And you said that Sasuke is Shisui's cousin."

Naruto fumbled through her head for possible lies that could explain how she knew three seemingly random people, one of them being an Uchiha.

"I- I, well I met Sakura and Sai on the road when I was traveling before I came to Konoha."

"You don't have to lie." Kakashi said, his voice oddly even. "From the way you were talking, Sakura and Sasuke knew each other. And if Sasuke is an Uchiha then he had to be from Konoha, and there's no way Sakura hasn't been to Konoha in that case. And you told Sakura to come get... _me_. You told her to make sure I wasn't late." 

"Maybe I was having a dream," She offered. "I don't really remember... Sai, Sasuke, and Sakura are all dead, now. Doesn't matter." And that wasn't even a lie. Rin and Kakashi both went silent.

"They're all dead? Even Sasuke?" Kakashi asked hesitantly.

Naruto looked away. "All of them. They're all dead." Naruto repeated without making eye contact with her two teammates. The temperature must have dropped five degrees. "And I'm sorry, but I really don't want to talk about it. And I think we should get a move on." Her voice was irritable, and she knew they knew that they had touched on a sore topic, because they both mumbled quiet apologies. Truly, they didn't deserve her coldness but talking about her dead comrades was like pulling teeth. 

Hearing Kakashi speak about Sasuke and Sakura like he didn't know who they were (even if he technically didn't) made Naruto's head hurt.

"I'll tell Sensei you're ready to go," Rin said. Naruto didn't look up at them again as they exited the tent.

Within ten minutes, Naruto had all her effects packed and ready to go. Ready to leave behind Kakashi and Rin and the stuffy atmosphere that their conversation had brought.

Naruto wasn't ready to talk about Sakura. She wasn't ready to talk about Sasuke. She wasn't ready to talk about Sai either. She wasn't ready to talk about any of the friends she had lost for that matter.

Minato eyed them curiously as they herded off together, Naruto avoiding both of her teammates pitying gazes.

\--><\--

Tea Country was a major step up from Yukigakure in Naruto's opinion, the sun shining on her already tan skin and her father's hair made her want to plop down in a flowerbed and nap for about five years.

The run had taken half a day less than what they'd expected, so they'd have time to check into the inn that the Sandaime was springing for.

Naruto, Rin, and Kakashi had decided to leave their awkward conversation back in Yukigakure, and while they were cautious around her, the three still made talk as they began stripping off their layers of overly warm clothes. Naruto had decided to pretend it had never even happen if only to alleviate some of the awkwardness. 

"Kami, it's so hot!" Naruto complained, shucking off her hat and letting it fly, Kakashi stretching his hand out to automatically catch it. "It's like they knew we'd be traveling in the warmest clothes we had and decided to send us straight away to the place that had the opposite climate!" She shrugged the clasp of her jacket off and flung it carelessly, followed shortly by her fuzzy scarf. "And to think we have to deal with all those stuffy political officials! I might lose my mind by the end of this mission if I don't get some ramen, dattebayo!" She shrugged off her gloves and let them fly.

Kakashi huffed from behind her, and when she turned she let out a bark of laughter. "Take all your stuff," Kakashi grumbled, pushing her flyaway clothes to her that he had caught. 

"No way!" Naruto said, pushing it back to him. "I was content to let it drop but you were catching it so you can take care of it!"

"This is all yours!" Kakashi said, looking damn near incredulous.

”Finders keepers,” She reminded him dryly, peering out to the dock that overlooked the small port besides their inn. Boats rowed over the calm waters with practiced ease, straw hats over the captains heads to protect them from heat. Beneath the surface, Naruto could see small schools of fish in bright orange and red swimming. 

“I don’t think you’re applying those words correctly,” Minato said evenly from her right, his arms gripping the pack that he had saddled over his shoulder. 

“Are you going to take them?” Kakashi offered her clothes back to her. At her lack of response, he huffed before stuffing it into his own pack. 

“I can take them, Kakashi-kun,” Rin offered shyly. 

There was a beat of silence before Kakashi was readjusting his pack, “It's okay, Rin. I’ve got it.” His voice was just a little shorter than any of them cared to mention. Minato and Naruto exchanged grimaces, but didn’t say anything.

Naruto wasn’t touching _that_ with a ten foot pole if she could help it. Kakashi had been trying to be nicer where it could be helped but when the situation arose where Rin was bordering on too nice, he immediately reeled it back in.

“Come on,” Minato finally said. “We have to check into our rooms and put down our stuff. There's going to be some down time tonight, and tomorrow morning will signal the start of the conference. We're going to arrive a little early so we can check out the area for threats and exits.” He turned to face them, his blue eyes serious. “It’s going to be hostile so I don’t think I need to tell you not to underestimate or show off. A few Konoha ninja have also been sent here to help guard. While you three will be the inside guard for tomorrow, rotations will change and they'll take over."

"Who are our replacements?" Kakashi asked.

"Choza Akimichi and Shibi Aburame."

Kakashi nodded like he hadn't expected anything else.

The pushed their way into the inn, waiting on the barkeeper who was talking with another customer.

Rin dropped her bag into a seat before leaning heavily against the wooden pillar decorating the middle of the room. 

“What’s the timetable looking like, Sensei?”

“After a brief sit down with the delegations of Kiri, Iwa, Suno, and Kumo, we’re going to head back here for dinner and sleep. The following day is going to a lot more prudent in terms of signing the treaty. A lot of game play,” Kakashi answered. He pulled the hair that had gotten stuck in his forehead protector out, letting it stick up with the rest of his gravity defying hair. 

It was entirely like that of what her own Kakashi would have done. She hadn’t realized she had been staring so intently at it until Kakashi snapped his fingers, “Is there something on my face?” He asked. 

“What?” Naruto startled. “Err, no. Your hair just.. caught me off guard. Didn’t expect it to be so... wild.” She reached a unconscious hand out to pat down a spike that just popped back up. Sighing in frustration, she glared at him. “It would do you well to invest in a comb.” 

“Are you seriously talking to me about my hair right now?” Kakashi asked.

“Kakashi’s right,” Minato said. “Let’s go. We have time to settle in because we arrived early.”

The quadruple walked up to the old lady bar keeping, a kind sort of smile on her face that seemed like a motherly instinct. The kind of old lady that offered you fresh baked cookies and and had a croaking soft voice. Her dusty brown dress had a tied over apron, and a small bandana wrapped over the crown of her head, giving her a very shopkeeper look.

"Hello," Minato said politely. "My team and I have been checked into an adjoint suite, under Namikaze."

Her bright eyes lit up with recognition, "Oh, of course, Namikaze-san. Hiruzen told me to expect you."

"You know that old man?" Naruto asked brashly. She had never seen this woman before, not even at Sarutobi's funeral in the future. But, then again, she hadn't really been paying attention at the time if she were being completely honest. 

The lady's laugh tinkled and she waved at them to follow her, taking them to an almost rickety stairwell that went against the rest of the nicely refined inn. "Hiruzen and I go a long ways back, since we were school children. I never lived in Konoha but I did visit the village from time to time before I settled down here so I could run this establishment."

They followed her up the old stairs that creaked and moaned with their added weight, the holes and cracks in each board straining under pressure as they fit up the stairwell in pairs of two, Miriam leading the charge. 

"I haven't seen him in some time but I still exchange letters with him from time to time. I imagine that being Hokage has taken up some of his time."

"Ah, yes," Minato said, giving her a smile. "We have been under high duress these past few years, and Sandaime-sama has been doing a fair job of pulling us together," He said it almost sheepishly to Naruto's amusement, like his own being was the personal cause for the Sandaime's lack of free time.

Miriam laughed lowly and pushed open the landing door at the top of the stairs, leading them to a dimly lit hallway that Naruto felt had a very cozy feel to it.

"Your room has two sleeping areas, and I assume the boys will be bunking and the girls will be together. There are two separate rooms but there is a connecting door. You'll have to pass through this room before you can get to the other."

She stopped in front of a door marked 211B, before dangling the keys in front of their faces - two copies.

"Now, I have one key for Minato-san and a spare key. I don't know which one of you kids will want it but maybe you should let -"

"I'll take it," Kakashi and Naruto stated firmly at the same time, before they were glaring at each other. 

There was a heated silence passed through the group, and Miriam looked back and forth between them.

"Ne, Kakashi-kun," Naruto said not about to step down, "I think I should take the key. Boys have one, and girls have one." 

"Forgive me if I'm wrong but I think that the most responsible should hold the key. And if it wasn't clear, you're not responsible at all."

Naruto gasped in offense. "I'm not - _I'm not_ responsible? You have no evidence whatsoever!"

"I have all your clothes in my bag because you were carelessly letting them drop to the ground," Kakashi deadpanned, stepping closer, letting himself tower over her.

Not to be intimidated, Naruto stepped closer as well and poked her finger into his chest. "That was one time, 'ttebayo! You can't hold that against me."

"That was twenty minutes ago."

Naruto's face flushed an angry red. "Yeah, well, I'm not the one who lost track of their ninken despite your ability to summon them whenever you want." 

Kakashi looked flustered. "That shouldn't even be counted! They’re just pups! They can’t be perfect all the time, and they’re getting better. Sometimes they just don’t remember me."

"I think you mean they don’t respect you," Naruto argued. 

"All right!" Rin yelled suddenly, pushing between them. Grabbing the second key from Miriam's hand, she rounded on her bickering teammates and held up the key threateningly. "Neither of you are getting the key because I have it! Got it?" 

"..." they looked at each other, before mumbling thoroughly scolded, "yes, Rin."

"Ah, yes, you're all such dears," Miriam claimed uncertainly.

Minato snorted into his hand before turning back to Miriam. "Thank you for your generosity, Miriam-san. We're going to start unpacking."

"Oh, of course! Don't let me keep you waiting. I'll see you four later!" Then Miriam was bustling back down the hall and pushing the stairwell door open again.

Minato pushed in the door. "Kakashi and I will take this room and Rin and Naruto, you two will take the adjoint room. Unpack your things and then we'll meet back here. Rin, I want you to take a look at Naruto's ribs, okay?"

"Yes, Sensei." 

\--><\--

Minato had told them to explore the inn in their free time - but Naruto didn't really see the point in it when there was barely any ground to cover. The inn was small - but it gave off warm vibes, like you could sit down in the lobby and strike up a conversation with a passing stranger, and end up leaving with a friend you hadn't started with. The ground floor was composed of the entrance lobby that connected to a small hut-like pub, where the top was covered in straw, but the seats and t-bar were made of wood. 

Behind it was stores upon stores of sake, and Naruto vaguely wondered what would happen if she tried drinking. Kurama's constant and strict presence in her own body had made getting drunk damn impossible - not that she'd really gotten the chance to try with the war being so prevalent at the time. Tsunade would've loved it, and she pondered if the Sannin was traveling nearby, and if she had heard of the ongoing peace attempts. 

Had it been anything else, Naruto would've snuck behind the bar and grabbed one of the finer bottles on the top shelves, the liquor entombed in smooth porcelain and fine china. Then she would've proceeded to jump into the nearest tree and drunk herself into a stupor just to see if she could.

But somehow, she figured it wouldn't go over well with any of her teammates. 

Naruto sighed. Having to grow up all over again was such a pain in the fucking ass. Was she really going to have to go through puberty all over again? 

Sighing again, she turned, and caught a flash of the bob of her brunette teammate, Kakashi walking besides her and they made their way around the bar. 

A light hand tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to see a grinning Miriam. "I know I didn't really tell you all about the inn. There's a bar, but I suspect you're too young to drink." When Naruto nodded, she continued. "There is a hot spring to your right though. There's a changing room further up the corridor," she pointed a painted fingernail to the sign that was hung over the doorway, "and of course, we have towels. Just in case," she patted Naruto's cheek before taking her leave again.

"Thank you!" she called after Miriam. 

And really, who was she to deny such a great offer? Her ribs could use a soak in warm water.

So she ducked into the changing rooms. For a moment, she wondered if she should tell Kakashi and Rin about it. But then she decided not to. 

Well, she would tell them later when she got out. She didn't mind their company but she felt the need to be alone in her thoughts. Relaxing in the hot springs would do her some good. 

Wrapping a towel over her small form, she tip-toed into the women's baths. It was most empty, save for a small group of middle aged women. They sat in a small square, and Naruto could tell they were gossiping - it was in the way they giggled wildly, and they leaned in to whisper in each other's name. 

Naruto dropped her towel before sinking into the warm waters, the steam bouncing off the liquid damping her face. She let out a low groan as she let herself drop down, the water encompassing her into it like a loving embrace. 

She closed her eyes and pulled the ties out of her hair, letting it drop down low, wetting her tresses until they looked more brown than their usual golden shade. Tilting her head back, she rested upon the small ledge behind her. Her ribs welcomed the heat of the water, and it felt like all the soreness was washing away. 

There was so much to think about. 

Clearly what was going to happen tomorrow wasn't going to pan out in the way Konoha had hoped, if the years leading up to the Fourth War were any indication. Unless this meeting hadn't even happened in her own timeline and she was just changing things so drastically. 

And besides the immediate events taking place - there was so much unknowns.

First of all, she was going to make sure that no matter what, Uchiha Shisui lived until he was gray and old. There was no way she was letting him die. 

Second, Obito's capture by Madara's hand had been avoided - thankfully - but there were still many things to consider. Madara would be on his deathbed soon, yes, but there was still time for the orchestration of Rin's death. If things did repeat themselves again, Naruto did have a handy seal that would override the one that the Iwa nin placed on her heart so that the Sanbi was set loose to attack Konoha upon their arrival. She and Obito had crafted it specifically for that in her previous timeline. 

There was also Zetsu to think about, and Naruto shuddered slightly, goosebumps rising on her skin besides the temperature in the spring. Zetsu was a victim of Kaguya but that didn't stop him from being any less creepy. Besides, Naruto wasn't actually sure how she was going to defeat him when they hadn't even done it in the original time. 

Not for the first time, Naruto thought that things would be so much more easier if she had support on her side. 

How could future Obito do this to her? He should've come back instead of her. 

But then, she thought of her parents who she was just getting to know, and the friends she had made in the Uchiha cousins, and her team and decided maybe she was overreacting.

It was possible that this impromptu trip to the springs was stressing her more than she had intended it to. 

Theoretically, without Obito to control Kurama, there should be no roadblock for her own birth in the future, which, if things went according to plan, was supposed to happen in about three years. 

There was also Root and Danzo, the Akatsuki, and Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan - and Naruto felt her eye twitch. There were so many fucking factors in play. She didn't know what she was going to do. There was so much to check off and not enough time. Her first priority should be Rin, she decided.

Then, she would need to find a way to Ame to see Jiraiya's three other students, while working with Shisui to punch Danzo in his evil face. 

One step at a time, she told herself with serenity she didn't feel.

Sighing, Naruto pulled herself out of the bath, her body shivering at the sudden loss of warmth. She was quick to rewrap her towel around herself, before stepping past the group of ladies who had been there before her.

That was when she caught wind of their conversation.

"- see him? He's so cute! And he looks so young too! He can't be older than 25," one woman said, a seductive sort of smile on her face like she intended to woo her victim from where she was sitting.

Naruto snorted for poor victim that was going to be attacked by these people.

"Back off, Niko-chan!" one of her friends yelled. "I saw him first so he's mine!"

"Oh don't be like that, Hayami," another brunette purred, her body slinking like that of a leopard as she draped her arms over the side of the pool. "Love's not fun without a little game."

Hayami scowled, eyes darting to her three other friends. "He walked in with those three kids anyways. I wonder if they're adopted or if he's just traveling with them. He looks far too young to have many kids of his own."

Naruto stopped short, almost in shock. There was no way. They couldn't be talking about- 

"Forget about the brats!" the final woman said, her pure white hair curling around her body, looking her three friends in the eye. "Can we just talk about him for a second? His hair was so blonde! And I've never seen a hairstyle like that!"

"Oh and he must be so strong!" the final women squealed, clasping her hands together like a prayer, her long lashes fluttering dreamily. "Did you see his bandages and that little bag he carried? _Ninjas_ carry those bags! He must be strong, and he can protect me if there are any dangers."

Kami, _no_. Naruto thought she might keel over if she heard anymore. Hell, the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages must've been rolling over in their graves listening to this bullshit. They truly _could not_ be talking about her dork of a dad. 

Niko swooned, and Naruto glared daggers into their backs, unaware of the blonde they were infuriating a few feet away. "And his eyes! They were so blue, I swore I was drowning in them! And did you see how that green jacket fit him? I wouldn't hate it _at all_ if he and I were to-"

"STOP!" Naruto barked loudly, breaking Niko's questionable statement. Then she was stomping over to them, crouching until she was eye-level with the four women who were trying to make advances on her father. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"Who are you?" the white haired one sneered haughtily, glaring at Naruto like she was something at the bottom of her shoe. 

Hayami placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's be nice, Misumi." Leaning in closer, she whispered, "That's one of the kids _he_ walked in with." Misumi's eyes widened. Naruto snorted.

Misumi inched forwards until she was face to face with Naruto. "Say..." she started. "Do you think you could-"

"No." Naruto crossed her arms and glared them down, her posture leaving no room for argument. "He's off limits. He's very much taken, and very much unavailable." Inwardly, Naruto was crying. She couldn't believe she had traveled back in time to fight off her father's admirers. 

"By who?" Niko demanded.

"None of your business!" Naruto screeched. "Don't come near him!" 

"You can't stop us!" Hayami said defiantly, crossing her arms to mirror Naruto. 

Naruto leaned in until their noses were touching. "Watch me!" she hissed threateningly. "Save yourself the rejection and move on! He's already got a good one." Naruto thought fondly of her red headed mother, vibrant and bright. Kushina would've punched them all into the next decade. Naruto briefly wondered if she should do it for her.

"Don't tell us what to do, little girl," Misumi waved her off dismissively. 

Naruto opened her mouth to snark back, but then clamped it shut decisively. They could play it that way, but if she saw them creeping up on Minato - it was game over. For all their observation skills, they seemed to forget that ninjas working with three kids meant that those kids were most likely a ninja squad. If they got too close... well... she always carried pranking supplies on hand anyways.

Naruto walked away back into the changing rooms and threw her towel back into the used towels hamper before pulling on a robe and packing up her clothes and making her way back through the bar - which was now packed with patrons - and up the rickety stairwell. 

She stopped in front of the team's doorway, wishing she had a key. As she was lifting her hand to knock, the door flung open. Kakashi was on the other side, and he took in her robe-clad form.

"Sauna?" he asked in lieu of hello. 

"Hot spring,” she corrected, moving past him to enter the room. “And stick beatings,” she muttered lowly.

”What?” 

“Nothing.” 

There was a soft click as he shut the door behind her. His pack was on what she assumed was his futon, and she paused, noticing the lack of Rin and Minato.

"Where's Sensei and Rin?" she asked, pulling a towel that was hung over a rack in their closet to dry her hair. 

Kakashi shrugged. "Sensei went out when we did, and he's not back yet. Rin said she was going to find us some food." 

The blonde hummed in acknowledgment before Kakashi was rolling his eyes and taking the towel from her. Absentmindedly, he piled the fluff of cloth onto her head and began scrunching it up, catching her wet hair in between the folds and squeezing the water out of it. 

"And what are you doing?" 

He shrugged again, his eyes fixed on his task. "Rin and I went to take a look around the place. Then we split ways. Now I'm here." 

Naruto chuckled, "Riveting."

"I try," he said drily. Patting the towel one final time, he moved behind her and formed a circle with it around her head. Then he pulled the blond strands into and twirled the towel until her hair sat decked into the layers of it on top of her head like a snow cone."

"Wow," she said, genuinely impressed, patting the towel wrap for structure sturdiness. "Who taught you how to do this?" Kakashi's hair was certainly not long enough for him to be practicing the art of towel wrapping.

"My father had long hair. Sometimes he would do that." His explanation was simple but Naruto had a hard time reconciling the legendary White Fang with the image of him wobbling as his long silvery hair was piled onto his head. It was also surprising to hear him share a memory so freely, but she didn't comment on it.

"Well," she said, "I'm going to get dressed and then I'll come back here."

"Sounds good," her former Sensei nodded.

\--><\--

"There's two exits," Rin said from her spot on the upper floor, peering over the banister to look at Kakashi. "The entrance we came in and the one in the back right of the room." Naruto watched as Kakashi's silver head disappeared behind a column as he went to check it out.

"I see it. There's also a drop down from the ceiling," he pointed upwards to the small cut in. "Too small for actual people, but big enough for bombs and things like that."

"Don't forget," Naruto said. "Ninja can use the Substitution jutsu and just drop down and transform." 

Rin and Kakashi both nodded in understanding before jumping down. 

They looked at each other, and then to Minato who was standing by his seat at the conference table.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Rin voiced lowly to them, her usually kind face twisted up.

Naruto agreed, but kept that to herself.

\--><\--

Minato sat directly across the nations' ambassadors. It seemed that all the Kages had shared the same idea - as none of the actual Kage were present. Rasa and Onoki had sent ninja to guard their ambassador, four each, but Naruto suspected the number would have been a lot higher had the Kage been actually there.

Naruto couldn't be sure of the exact timeline but Yagura was too young to be Mizukage right now, which meant that the Sandaime Mizukage was still leader of Kiri. 

However, the Kiri delegation looked extremely wary, and Naruto could not blame them. Konoha was very strong, but having so much power play made the room extremely on edge, just like how Minato had said it would be. 

It was a shock to see A there. She knew that the Sandaime Raikage was still in power and it would be some time before A would step into the role, but it was still extremely weird to see him so young. 

To each respective land's representative stood their guards. 

Naruto didn't actually know how much of a guard she, Kakashi, and Rin could provide when Minato seemed to be much stronger than them - granted, she had surpassed him in the future but with her abnormally weak body, she was unable to show of her sage mode and without Kurama, Kurama chakra mode.

They stood in the triangle formation, Naruto taking center with Rin and Kakashi on either side of her. 

And since Konoha had been the one to extend the olive branch, it was Minato who had to start.

He clears his throat, and Naruto can tell from a few feet away that for all the confident Shinobi he is, he's a bit nervous. Naruto resists the urge to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and instead takes time to stare ahead at the guard ninja for the Tsuchikage delegate.

"I appreciate all of you coming out here," Minato started, making sure to meet each representative's eye. "The war has been especially taxing for all of us, and I know we're all recuperating."

The room is deadly silent, and the tension radiating off of the whole room is enough to make Naruto stand on edge. 

"But instead of war, we are gathered to speak of peace. With all the losses we've faced and the suffering that has come to each of us, I believe that we have a better understanding of one another now than we've ever had in ages."

"Peace seems like a lofty goal, eh, Namikaze-san?" the Suna delegate said. "War is so fresh on our minds, and I doubt peace is the next thing on the list of things we're looking for right now. Peace seems like a far stretch when we've lost so many loved ones to the Shinobi of Konoha."

The tension in the room rocketed, and Naruto felt her own hand begin to drift to the kunai sheathed on her thigh. 

Minato never lost his pleasant look though. "I am aware of all the casualties. Suna has not been the only one to lose their dear ones. All of us have. That is the cost of war. How many more will have to pay before we come to a consensus?" He looked in turn at the other four sitting at the circular table. “We must not be selfish in these times of need.” 

A shook his head. “So much has happened between us all. Can we say we truly trust one another?”

The Kiri delegate sneered, “I certainly don’t trust you, A-kun.” 

A held up his hands placatingly, though his eyebrows pulled up aggressively. “I’m not asking you to, Naiade-san. I’m just pointing out that partnerships may be a bit strained.” 

Naruto listened hard to everything they were saying. 

Briefly, Naruto recalled the conversation she and the Kakashi of her own time had, and he had told her how hard it had been to rally all the nations under one banner when they were so distrusting of one another. Had it not been for Gaara, the Allied Shinobi Forces would have strained from the lack of confidence placed in one another. 

  
If it had been hard then, it’d be near impossible now when war was not quite yet fading from the horizons. 

And she could feel the gaze of the Kumo guards on her head and she wished it were a less formal setting so she could flash him her middle finger without causing a riot and severing the peace treaty all together. 

It was making her severely uncomfortable, though. The Kumo guard was made up of three Kunoichi and one Shinobi. Two of the Kunoichi were drilling daggers into her skull, and she vaguely wondered if she had done something to piss them off. 

Still, she pretended she didn’t notice them. She was in no shape to fight anyways with her ribs aching and her leg faintly heated from exertion. 

“It will not always be like this,” Minato said. “We may not see eye to eye right now, but there will come a day where we will need each other. There will be a threat that outranks us all, and we will need the support of allies to overcome it. I hope we do not have to wait until that day to form bonds.” 

“Will all due respect, Namikaze-san,” Iwa delegate said, “Konoha should not be offering partnerships when they have suffered the least in this war.” 

“I disagree. We should be the village you all decide to connect to _because_ of that. You cannot deny that we are good allies to have. I am not saying this to seem cocky, but it would do well for all of us to aid each other. And even if Konoha has suffered the least casualties, does not mean we have not felt the sting of what we have lost."

Naruto felt almost in awe. Her father was able to speak so fluently, addressing each of these nations concern without losing his temper. 

Time passed so slowly, and Naruto had been sure that Minato had said this would be a brief meeting. The delegates argued back and forth, and Naruto still felt the keen stare of the Kumo guards on her, and she wondered if there was ill intent behind it.

Scratch that -- of course there was.

Kumo had tried kidnapping her mother once already, she knew, and not to mention that the whole Hyuuga Affair was set to happen, aligning with Hinata's third birthday. There was no way they knew she was an Uzumaki or a jinchuuriki, so she wondered why they were taking such interest in her when there was a clear Sharingan user right behind her. Kakashi's forehead protector had been pushed up, his eyes not only acting as a lookout for them all, but a subtle reminder to the other nations that Konoha was not to be messed with.

And of course, Naruto didn't want them to set their sights on Kakashi, but it did not stop the fact that there was a much clearer target than herself.

Naruto watched as one of the female Kumo guards - her orchid-purple hair resting high in a bun atop her head, a mesh tank underneath a dark green jacket with standard black Shinobi pants - leaned in to whisper in A's ear. 

There was a long moment as the Suna delegate spoke over the Kumo teams' whispers, and Naruto managed to catch the name - Hiro. 

Naruto forced herself to remain relaxed as A's eyes zoomed in on her. A wasn't a bad person, she had personally faced him with Killer Bee before. But A wasn't also her greatest friend, and Kumo had a long history of doing shady things. 

This was called to an immediate attention when A interrupted Hiro's speech to speak to Minato.

"Sorry to jump in, Hiro-san," A said, "but something has come to my guards' attention about Minato-san's guards." Naruto's heart rate sped up - this was no coincidence, and she didn't have to turn around to look at Rin and Kakashi to know they had tensed.

Minato's tone was neutral, but Naruto recognized the vigilance underneath his outwardly passive demeanor, "Oh? Care to share, A-san?" 

The purple haired Kumo guard nodded in their direction, eyes fixed on Naruto. "Forgive me for asking, but you wouldn't happen to have your own child as your guard, would you Minato-san?" 

It was all Naruto could do to not show a reaction. She felt her muscles slowly contract, and she felt Kakashi and Rin both take a small step to her, reinforcing their small triangle. It was true, she did look very much like Minato, and she was surprised that there were seemingly random Shinobi pointing it out rather than people who knew them on a personal scale. 

Still, her heart raced as the tension in the room skyrocketed with that statement. All eyes were flickering back and forth between herself and Minato - because there was no one else with such bright yellow hair and sea-glass blue eyes. Kakashi and Rin didn't share any sort of resemblance to Minato. 

Was she about to be figured out? 

Was someone going to finally start taking a closer look at her now that the idea had been put into the air?

Minato turned to look at them, scanning over each of them before stopping on Naruto. He let out a loud laugh, startling the other delegates. "I assure you, A-san, I have no child. None of my guards are of my blood."

It shouldn't hurt but it did.

Minato disregarding the claim was the only correct thing for him to do, especially since he didn't know she was even his own, but it still hurt all the same - the same way it hurt her to have to say she didn't have a family name or clan, when all she desperately wanted to say was that she was an Uzumaki. 

Her skin felt itchy, and she could tell by their skeptical looks that they didn’t believe him. Naruto wasn’t sure she would either, if she had saw herself and Minato standing side by side. 

“It’s just that the blonde kunoichi-san looks so much like you,” the purple haired one tried. 

“Yes, I suppose we do share some similar traits,” Minato agreed lightly, eyes sparkling with mirth. “But she is not my daughter. I don’t have a daughter.”

Ouch. 

_Naruto’s level of emotional pain: 2801 and rising_

And she supposed, she had no right to blame him. 

But in the same way, she also supposed that she couldn’t really consider him her father no matter how much she longed to. 

When the time came, he’d be a father to someone else. 

Naruto let an audible sigh pass her lips. 

There was a knock on the back on of her heels, and Naruto wished she could turn around and punch her silver haired teammate. 

“Our mistake,” A apologized, signaling his guard back in line. 

Naruto hoped she didn’t look too relieved. 

“Back to what you were saying, Hiro-san,” Minato gestured for him to continue speaking.

—><—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW! You made it!
> 
> That was abnormally long, wasn't it? 
> 
> I apologize if that was too long. The truth is, I finished writing this chapter like.... six weeks ago, and then on Monday I was like, this mission is really short what the heck - lemme add another mission to it.
> 
> Except the mission that I added could literally become an arc because of how much could be going on. 
> 
> And while I would like to do that, I've already written up to chapter 15, and I'm so excited for you guys to read chapter 14 (and you guys still have over a month to go before you can read it). 
> 
> And with all this mind, I have come to the realization that my stories have no structure whatsoever and I have no idea how to fix it because my writing career is a feeble one. 
> 
> But yes. And so I could've split this chapter but I didn't and now the following chapter is going to have to be a continuation of this little peace conference these Kage delegates have going on. So technically, this is the end of the first day. I hope that I made that clear. 
> 
> Ah yes. That was a bit confusing, wasn't it? 
> 
> Well, anyways, I hope you guys like the extra content you got this week, and I hope you liked the chapter.
> 
> Happy reading, and stay safe :)
> 
> P.S. I'm in the middle of the War Arc right now, and I just started the next season (honestly, I have no idea what season I'm on because I've been binge watching). But what's happening is that we just saw Obito lose his marbles because Kakashi killed Rin, and now Kakashi is in ANBU, and I'm crying for my best boy because his life is so sad.
> 
> That's it.


End file.
